By Daily Press staff
Hundreds of people were evacuated along the Third Street Promenade on Tuesday morning because of a gas leak.
At about 9:30 a.m., a delivery truck hit a natural gas pipe in the alley behind court three in the 1300 block of the Promenade. When Santa Monica Police officers arrived, they could smell the odor of gas and could hear the leak.
A one-block stretch was cordoned off by police and the buildings on the eastside of the Promenade were evacuated at about 10 a.m. It took about two hours before Southern Gas Co. officials could shut off the gas and repair the pipe.
Close to 200 workers at the businesses between Arizona Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard lingered around the mall for about two hours before being allowed back inside the buildings.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 11, 2004. Read the original PDF.