See all coverage of the San Bruno fire on this page
A group of people gathered today along the streets surrounding the site of Thursday’s explosion and fire in San Bruno, some to see whether their houses are still standing and others just trying to catch a glimpse of the disaster.
Four people have been confirmed dead in the blaze and another 52 people were hospitalized. Thirty-seven homes were destroyed and eight sustained major or minor damage.
A line of cars gathered near the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and Sneath Lane, one of the better vantage points to see the damage wrought by the fire.
One of the people looking was Betty Leong, who lives on Glenview Drive, one of the streets affected by the fire.
Leong said she wasn’t home at the time of the explosion, but her husband was. He was able to get out of the home but had to be taken to a local hospital after suffering a heart attack during the escape, she said.
Leong said she went out because her husband asked her to check if their home was still standing, but the couple did not have high hopes because it was starting to catch fire as the husband escaped.
The couple also have a cat but do not know what happened to it in the fire, she said.
A handful of residents were let into the fire site from the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and Sneath Lane, and one was seen coming out with a cat and a carrying case.
Other people came to the area to take pictures and witness the destruction and the response by local, state and federal authorities.
One of those people was a man from England who said he was visiting the Bay Area and saw the disaster on the news. He wanted to come by and see it before he flew out of San Francisco International Airport later today.
The area is still too unsafe to let most residents back into the area, according to authorities.
A ruptured gas pipe 30 inches in diameter is likely behind the massive explosion, but the exact cause has not yet been determined.
