Explosion Closes 5 Freeway In LA County: Reports

A gas line explosion has prompted the closure of the Golden State (5) Freeway in Castaic on Saturday, and residents in the area have been ordered to shelter in place, authorities and reports said.

Firefighters in Los Angeles County were responding to a report of a gas explosion in the area of Ridge Route Road and Pine Crest Place about 4:15 p.m., NBC4 reported.

There have been no injuries reported as of 6:15 p.m.

The 5 was closed in both directions and traffic was being diverted to State Route 126 for northbound traffic and State Route 138 for southbound traffic, according to the California Highway Patrol. The closure was until further notice, CHP said.

It appeared authorities were looking for ways to get motorists caught in the closure out of the area as of 6:30 p.m., where people had been sitting for nearly two hours.

One driver tweeted that he was stuck for 90 minutes. "CHP finally routed us down a small fire road that dumped us back on I5 north. Heading to Antelope Valley now to get back to LA via 14," Brian Mercer wrote.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has confirmed a natural gas leak, the Los Angeles Fire Department said, and said firefighters and gas company crews were working to contain the leak.

The city fire department said multiple residents in Granada Hills, Porter Ranch and Sylmar called reporting a smell of natural gas but said there was no danger to the city.

The ruptured line was a transmission gas line, CBS News reported. The shelter-in-place request was for residents within a one-mile radius of the gas line, the report said, quoting Los Angeles County fire officials.

Multiple people reported hearing loud booms from about 4:15 p.m. until about 5 p.m., several news reports said, and the odor of natural gas was strong in the immediate area around the leak.

Residents told ABC Eyewitness News that they also heard what sounded like a jet engine after the rupture.

Video shared on X by multiple users showed the gas line after the rupture. It wasn't immediately clear how long after the explosion the video was taken.

The transmission line is a 36-inch underground pipeline, Austin Dave, a reporter with KeyNewsTV, wrote on X. His report said there was a large landslide in the area of the rupture but that it was not clear if the landslide caused the rupture or the rupture caused the landslide.