Gas explosion in San Francisco Bay Area damages homes, 6 taken to hospitals

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A gas explosion set off a major fire in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood on Thursday after obliterating at least one home, blowing out windows and shaking nearby houses. Six people were taken to hospitals for injuries, fire officials said.

Dramatic video footage showed a home in the Hayward area sitting under a blue sky when it suddenly exploded, spewing jagged wood and other debris into the air as smoke billowed.

Brittany Maldonado, who lives across the street from the home, was in her bedroom with her husband when she heard the blast.

“Boxes fell over and everything shook. We thought someone had just flown off the freeway and their car was in our living room,” she said. “It was like someone had just launched a bomb.”

Then they looked at the Nest doorbell cam footage and saw their neighbor’s home blowing up.

Alameda County Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Nishimoto said he did not know if those injured were workers or residents, but he said three people were immediately sent to a hospital due to their injuries and three others who were sent had more minor injuries.

Three structures on two separate lots were severely damaged, said Alameda County Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Nishimoto. Some of the 75 firefighters who responded had to back off momentarily when they felt electric shocks from power lines that had fallen on the site.

The neighborhood of single-level homes with tidy small lawns and some businesses n...