No initial signs of ignition, explosion after gas leak in Castaic that closed 5 Freeway

There were no initial signs of ignition or explosion after a high-pressure, 34-inch natural gas pipeline ruptured on Saturday, Dec. 27 in Castaic, north of Santa Clarita, causing officials to halt traffic on the 5 Freeway for several hours.

Officials with the Southern California Gas Company are investigating the cause of the break, but said that significant land movement was observed near the rupture.

As of Sunday, a handful of non-residential customers were experiencing outages due to the break, SoCal Gas said.

The pipeline rupture was first reported around 4:20 p.m. Saturday on a hill above the 5 Freeway just north of Lake Hughes Road, a California Highway Patrol officer told City News Service. Video from the scene showed a large cloud of debris floating toward the freeway and a loud whoosh could be heard.

Gas flow in the line was stopped within a few hours, but the smell of gas remained for a time.

A shelter in place order was issued for nearly 15,000 residents in the pipeline rupture area, ABC7 reported, but it was lifted by 10:04 p.m. Saturday.

Around 8:45 p.m. Saturday, the 5 Freeway reopened, according to the California Highway Patrol.