Ventura residents evacuated from homes — twice — as vapors waft from sewer

Scores of residents in Ventura were ordered Sunday by city officials to leave their homes after gasoline leaked into a local sewer line — the second time in three days that residents had to evacuate because of the problem.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of about 150 homes because of “potentially dangerous levels of hydrocarbon vapors” and placed another 2,600 homes under a warning. Both orders were lifted Sunday at 4:40 p.m.

Officials pinpointed the source of the leak as the Sinclair gas station at 2121 E. Harbor Blvd. The station’s owner told authorities that at least 2,000 gallons of gasoline had gone into the ground at Monmouth Way and Harbor Boulevard, said Mack Douglass, emergency services manager for the Ventura Police Department.

The gasoline leaked from an underground facility, said Jennifer Buckley, a spokesperson for the city.

Sinclair Harbor said in a statement Sunday that a potential leak was reported to the company on Friday. The affected pipes no longer contain gas, and the gas station has been shut down as a precaution, according to the statement.

“Additional testing and repairs are scheduled for early next week to ensure the issue is fully resolved,” the statement said.

In their evacuation order on Sunday at 9:53 a.m., Ventura police urged residents along Bayshore Avenue to “leave the area as soon as you can.”

The incident started Thursday after vapors were observed in the sewer line at Monmouth Way between East Harbor and Pierpont boulevards. That triggered evacuations and warnings that were lifted later that day. Officials couldn’t confirm at the time that it was gasoline, Buckley said.

An emergency alert update from the city Sunday said Ventura Water had repaired the line where the leak was located, but “the extent of the leak continues to be investigated in the sewer system to mitigate the vapor caused by the gasoline.”

Bayshore Avenue south of Peninsula Street remained closed Sunday evening due to open maintenance hole covers in the right of way.

Officials warned the public to stay away from maintenance holes where city crews were at work.