California: Massive fire breaks out in a residential neighbourhood

A massive fire burned homes as it roared through a mostly residential neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco following an explosion early on Thursday evening.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/california-massive-fire-breaks-out-in-a-residential-neighbourhood-51001?cp

A massive fire burned homes as it roared through a mostly residential neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco following an explosion early on Thursday evening. The fire is burning in the town of San Bruno a few miles from San Francisco International Airport, prompting speculation the blaze was sparked by a plane crash. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency has no record of a crash. Spokesmen for local airports also said they knew of no missing planes.Pacific Gas and Electric, the utility company that serves the San Francisco Bay area, is looking into the possibility of a natural gas explosion but had no additional information, said spokesman JD Guidi Live footage shown on KPIX-TV showed at least a dozen homes destroyed, with flames reaching as high as 60 feet in the air as the fire fueled itself on the burning homes. Planes and helicopters flew over the neighborhood dumping water in an effort to stanch the flames.

Witnesses say a loud explosion was felt just before the flames erupted around 6 pm. Jane Porcelli, 62, said she lives on a hill above where the fire is centered. She said she thought she heard a plane overhead with a struggling engine. "And then you heard this bang. And everything shook except the floor, so we knew it wasn't an earthquake," Porcelli said. "I feel helpless that I can't do anything. I just gotta sit by and watch."

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/california-massive-fire-breaks-out-in-a-residential-neighbourhood-51001?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/california-massive-fire-breaks-out-in-a-residential-neighbourhood-51001?cp

Posted in: USA News