[5] The loud roar and shaking led some residents of the area, first responders, and news media to initially believe that it was an earthquake or that a large airplane had crashed.
[7] Among the eight deaths was 20-year-old Jessica Morales, who was with her boyfriend, Joseph Ruigomez, at the epicenter of the fire (his home) on the corner of Earl Ave.
Despite his proximity to the epicenter of the fire, Ruigomez survived but spent nearly five months recovering in the Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Burn Center.
Greig worked for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in a small unit that advocates for consumer rights pertaining to natural gas regulations.
She had spent part of the summer evaluating PG&E's expansion plans and investment proposals to replace out-of-date pipelines.
[34] An official press release issued by PG&E on September 10 reported the pipe was a 30-inch (76 cm) steel transmission line.
[35] Shares of PG&E stock fell eight percent on the Friday after the explosion,[36] reducing the company's market capitalization by $1.57 billion.
Specifically, the CPUC asked PG&E officials to show their lines had been tested or examined in a way that could prove the pipeline can withstand the current maximum operating pressure.
The first phase, scheduled to end in 2014, targeted pipeline segments in urban areas, those not built to modern standards, and those that had not been strength-tested.
[41] Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado made a state of emergency declaration and signed an executive order to provide aid to victims.
[43] U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier called the devastation "a very serious crisis" and was asking Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare it a national disaster area.
[3] Newer pipelines are usually manufactured into the shape needed for these applications, rather than having multiple weaker welded sections that could potentially leak or break.
[37] The NTSB held a 3-day public hearing on March 1 through 3, 2011, to gather additional facts for the ongoing investigation of the pipeline rupture and explosion.
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) replacement was started at the Milpitas terminal several hours before the San Bruno explosion.
[54] Through more than 20 law firms, over 100 plaintiffs have sued Pacific Gas and Electric and/or its parent, PG&E Corporation, in the Superior Courts of California in over 70 separate lawsuits.
All the cases were consolidated and transferred to Judge Steven L. Dylina on March 4, 2011, and designated as Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding (JCCP) No.
A week later, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a front-page story attacking the defendants for invoking certain routine defenses in their answer, like state-of-the-art and comparative negligence.
[55] In July 2012, the plaintiffs lodged a deposition in San Mateo County Superior Court claiming that PG&E management ignored employee concerns about GIS data inaccuracies that impeded inspection of the pipeline.
[60] In October 2012, public hearings on the San Bruno pipeline blast at the CPUC were suspended for state regulators and PG&E to strike a deal about the fines.
[62] In December 2012 the CPUC decided that 55% of the long term costs for PG&E pipeline inspection and safety upgrades of $229 million will be borne by electricity rate payers.
[69] On January 21, 2017, PG&E was fined $3 million and ordered to perform 10,000 hours of community service for criminal actions of violating the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act and for obstruction of justice.