Neighbor says she reported gas odor hours before deadly Twentynine Palms explosion

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA (KESQ) — SoCalGas now confirms one of its workers responded to a Twentynine Palms home earlier in the day after a neighbor reported a strong odor she believed was natural gas, hours before a nearby home exploded Friday night.

The company says the worker determined the odor was coming from a septic tank.

The explosion happened Friday, Aug. 21, in the 6400 block of Ocotillo Avenue. San Bernardino County firefighters said three adults and a dog were inside the home when the explosion occurred. One person was killed, while two others were hospitalized with injuries.

Neighbor Christy Turley told News Channel Three she first noticed the smell on Friday morning while standing in her backyard with a friend.

“It was that Friday morning at about 9:30 in the morning. I was outside in my backyard with my friend, and we smelled gas — real strong waves of the gas,” Turley said.

Turley said she made an emergency call to SoCalGas to report the odor.

She previously told News Channel Three that a worker came to her home, walked through her backyard and told her the smell was not gas.

“A lady came out and she walked in the backyard. She said, ‘That’s sewer.’ I told her, ‘No, that’s not sewer,’” Turley said.

SoCalGas has now confirmed that a worker did respond to the home earlier that day. According to the company, the worker determined the odor was coming from a septic tank.

Turley said after the worker left, she did not receive any additional information.

“She never came back. She never let us know we were okay and we were safe. So we just assumed that we were,” Turley said.

Hours later, Turley was inside her home when the explosion happened nearby.

She said the force of the blast was so powerful that she initially thought something had happened at the nearby Marine Corps base or that the area was experiencing an earthquake.

“It hit so hard, so loud. I thought that the base had been bombed or something bad like that, and everything shook, and I thought maybe it was an earthquake,” Turley said.

When the shaking stopped, Turley said she ran outside and saw flames surrounding the area.

She grabbed a water hose and brought it to a neighbor, who then used it to help keep her home from catching fire.

Turley said people throughout the neighborhood quickly began helping one another. Parents rushed to get children away from the flames, while other residents grabbed hoses and jumped fences in an effort to keep the fire from spreading.

“Everybody, like all the parents, were getting their children out. Some of them had no shoes on,” Turley said. “The rest stayed behind. They were jumping the fences here and everything, trying to get over there to the fire.”

As the scene grew more intense, Turley said she eventually decided she needed to leave the area.

“People were yelling and screaming and on their roofs with their water hoses,” she said. “It was pretty terrifying. So I just grabbed what I could, and I left.”

Turley said the experience has continued to affect her days later.

“This has all really traumatized me. I’m afraid to be in my house for very long. I feel like I need to go outside and make sure nothing’s happening,” she said.

She said neighbors are now discussing holding their own fire evacuation drills so families know how to get out safely if another emergency occurs.

SoCalGas previously told News Channel Three it was notified of the reported explosion at approximately 8:46 p.m. Friday at a residence in the 6400 block of Ocotillo Avenue.

The utility said crews responded to the scene to assess any damage to natural gas infrastructure and make related conditions safe for the neighborhood and first responders.

SoCalGas said it is also conducting its own review of the incident.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department is working to determine what caused the explosion. SoCalGas' confirmation that its worker responded earlier in the day and attributed the reported odor to a septic tank does not establish whether that earlier odor was connected to the explosion later that night.

SoCalGas is asking customers who experience a service disruption or suspect a natural gas leak to call 1-800-427-2200.

News Channel Three will continue following this story and provide updates as more information becomes available.