CABAZON: Businesses, restaurant evacuated after demolition crews rupture gas line
CABAZON – A ruptured gas main forced the evacuation of several businesses and a restaurant, including the well-known Cabazon Dinosaurs museum and roadside attraction Wednesday, Jan. 4. The gas line was ruptured in the 50000 block of Seminole Drive in Cabazon.
Firefighters and law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the ruptured gas line about 12:45 p.m., after a construction crew reportedly damaged a main gas line while tearing down a building.
“The rupture was caused by demolition work in the area,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Public Information Officer Tawny Castro explained.
Eleven firefighters from two engine companies and one truck company from Cal Fire and Morongo Fire Department responded to the ruptured gas main, according to Castro.
Southern California Gas Company personnel were summoned to the scene to repair the gas leak.
Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Cabazon Police station also responded to the incident. They assisted firefighters by evacuating adjacent businesses, including a Shell gas station and a Burger King fast food restaurant, as well as the Cabazon Dinosaurs museum and exhibits, according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Adam Vallejo.
CHP officials assisted by closing Seminole Drive to all through traffic while gas company employees worked to repair the gas leak.
Gas company personnel brought the leak under control about 3:25 p.m., according to Castro.
There were no reported injuries to citizens or officials related to the gas leak.
Seminole Drive was re-opened to through traffic shortly afterwards.
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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.