thank you very much. >> jeff smith with pg&e, talking about how the area is not yet safe. they don't know exactly the status of that gas line. again, it's still hot there. it is smoldering and dark and unsafe. they will do house-to-house searches, hopefully finding nothing. >> exactly. >> we don't know. >> a lot of assessment needs to happen. hopefully they can move in and try to repair that line. >> is 4:45. just ahead, continuing coverage of the massive neighborhood fire in san bruno. >> we will hear from neighbors who say they smelled gas for a week. and survivors talk about their esca escape to safety. they say they had seconds to react. pe >>> welcome back. want to check in once again with mike inouye this morning. he has a look at the roads closed around the san bruno area where the fireball happened. >> laura, good morning to you and good morning to scott. the local roads around the fire, the epicenter, talking about the initial reports of skyline at san bruno avenue. skyline has reopened. that does not mean you should head to the area. schools are closed, check the

again we want to try to speak with jeff smith, spokes person for pg&e this morning over the phone. ff, are you there? >> yes, i am. how are you this morning? >> great, thank you, thank you for joining us. tell us because last night there was a lot of uncertainty but this morning we are -- we understand that it was in fact a ruptured pg&e gas line. what can you tell us about the cause of this? >> right, the cause has yet to be determined. first and foremost i have to say because this is such a terrible tragedy our thoughts and prayers are with the people losing their homes and lives and it is a terrible terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with those directly impacted by it. with respect to the cause as i mentioned it is yet to be determined. we do know that a gas traps mission line was ruptured, if it is ultimately determined we were responsible for the cause of the incident we will take accountability for it. >> and jeff, what can you-we -- we have heard reports that people living in the area had reported some smell, a embase smell, some kind of smell and reported that to pg and e

jeff smith with p-g-and-e joins us live by phone now to give us an update. good morning jeff. thank you jeff smith with pg & e. san bruno city manager connie jackson says the most immediate task, is trying to account for all the people who lived in the neighborhood. "the city organization is fully mobilized to assist residents. our primary concern at this point is identifying and locating all of the residents of the affected area." the city is urging people whose homes are in the fire area, to register by calling this number... 650-616- 7180. the city wants to account for as many people as possible, as the search for more victims begins today. again, the number to call is 650-616-7180. cbs five photo journalist don ford was able to get near the spot where the fire started. he says it was a chaotic scene. "power lines are all down. thee's glass and dirt in the street. close to the epicenter where this main ruptured, the the the energy was so intense that the street has been reduced to nothing but a dirt path now. it's still wide, but there s nothing left at all of the asphalt.

let's talk to pg&e spokesman jeff smith by phone.f you can update us on the power situation, how many without power and what areas and the nearby landmarks like skyline college. >> as you mentioned where there initially were 5,000 customers without power and right now we're still working to get those folks restored as quickly and safely as we can. i would be remiss if i didn't mention first and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with those of that been directly impacted by this tragedy. it's a terrible, terrible tragedy and the priority of course now is help make the area safe. we've got crews on the scene that are available to do that. and, you know, our thoughts and prayers really are with those directly impacted by this terrible, term tragedy. >> jeff, walk us through what pg&e knows what happened at this point? >> you know, at this point the cause has yet to be determined. we do know a pg&e gas transmission line was ruptured. and if it is determined that we were responsible for the cause of the incident, we absolutely will tak

. >> jeff smith. jeff? was it a pipeline? [ pause ] >> can you hear me? >> yes. can you hear us?> yes, i can. go ahead. >> was it a pipeline? >> you know, we -- we -- what we do know at this point in time, there's a lot we still don't know, but the cause has yet to be determined but we do know that a pg&e gas transmission line was ruptured. >> okay. >> and if it is ultimately determined that we were responsible for the cause of the incident, we will take accountability for that. but, uhm, the cause has yet to be determined. we can confirm that a gas transmission line was ruptured. >> did you have any crews working in that area or had anyone checked in with pg&e to say they would be working in that area? >> you know, those are the types of details that are going to come forward as the -- as the investigation takes place? uhm.... what i can tell you is the ntsb, the national transportation safety board, is expected to be on site, on scene today. they are the federal agency responsible for investigating natural gas pipe line incidents. and pg&e will cooperate fully with the ntsb and

. >> pg&e spokesman jeff smith joins us by phone to give us the latest updates on the number withoutpower, without gas. >> right now there are approximately 700 customers without electricity in the area and approximately 300 customers without gas in the area. >> is pg&e investigating the reports from residents that they've been smelling gas before the explosion maybe as long as a week ago? >> you know, we've heard those reports in the media as well. we absolutely -- that will absolutely be part of the ongoing investigation that is taking place. there's no specific information on that at this time. but we have heard those reports as well. we will be looking into that. >> you've heard reports from the media and not from people who lived in the neighborhood? >> we've heard, again, in the media we heard those reports that the media has talked to some residents who have indicated that. so that is certainly something we'll be looking into as part of our investigation. >> so you cannot confirm that pg&e actually received reports from neighbors in that area? >> those reports are something th

jeff smith from pacific gas and electric. can you bring us up-to-date on what you know?> really, in terms of the specific details, it is too early to tell. our thoughts are with the folks that have been directly impacted by this terrible tragedy. we are working with local emergency responders to help insure that they are taking care of and that we make the situation safer. we're working with local officials to do that. >> authorities are saying that the gas explosion triggered this fire. what can you tell us? >> you know, it is too early to tell on that specifically. we're working with local officials on the investigation but in terms of the specifics of that, it is too early to tell at this point time. >> and what have your people on the ground said about this situation? >> as i mentioned, we have people on scene, something we take very seriously. they are working with the local emergency responders to help make the situation safe. that is what the focus is right now on that is what our folks are looking at doing. >> has your company ever had any problems like this in t

first we want to get to jeff smith from pg&e this morning.se are serious claims from neighbors there, jeff. >> certainly that was part of the ongoing investigation. we have heard those reports in the media as well, that some customers have indicated that in conversations with the media. that certainly will be part of our -- of the overall investigation that takes place. >> okay. where are we right now. >> we will be cooperating with that investigation. >> we know you are trying to make headway this morning. where are we now? we have crews at the scene. give us the latest. >> a couple of things. pg&e crews will be walking the neighborhood with the fire department this morning to make sure it is safe to restore power where possible. and pg&e crews are also proactively surveying the gas transmission and gas distribution system to determine the damage and be sure that restoration will happen. >> go right ahead, jeff. >> the other developments this morning is the ntsb, the national transportation safety board, the federal saagency responsible for

we appreciate your time, we know you are extremely busy jeff smith, spokesperson for pge. >>> deputies say they arrested a man and a woman suspected of luting. deputies are standing guard in front of some of the homes affected by the fire and questioning people and checking id's to make u sure only to people who live there enter the area. >>> our time is 7:19. another big story we are following for croud this morning is the economy -- you this morning is the economy. president obama will be trying to sell and defend his new economic strategy inwa w and expected to announce one of the key people he selected to get the job done. carol joins us now with the details of what to expect. >> reporter: president obama is trying to convince skeptical public he is being aggressive about the economy. i he unrolled a trio of new proposals to jump start job growth, including a $50 billion plan for rebuilding america's roads, tax break for businesses that make big upgrades and reinstating taxes for the wealthiest americans. republicans say bad idemly with the economy stalling. here is what the white

. >> jeff smith says liquids, mostly oil and water, caused corrosion in pipe 132, the gas pipeline that blew up. smith says utilities discovered it during one of the regularly scheduled inspections. requested funding to repair it and completed the repairs in november 2009. smith says whether it has any connection to why the explosion took place is something that ntsb will deinside icide. >> corrosion can cause eroding of metal pipes. that's why there is concern. it is something we inspect for. >> lime green trucks and cars, a familiar sight, they belong to a cleaning company hired to remove soot and hazardous debris from homes where residents were allowed to return. today, pg & e, announced the green cars would soon disappear. >> all i can really say, we hold our contractors to the highest of standards, in the way they in act with customers and the way they provide for them. servepro is no longer under contract. >> the utility heard concerns from customers, wouldn't say what they were. nellie fisher continued to let a servepro crew clean her home after consulting her insurance agent. >>

here in our fox 5 studios is jeff smith, the executive director of d.c. voice, a nonprofit education advocacy group. thank you both for being with us, gentlemen. we want to start comment abouts today from the president. mr. smith, let's start -- comments today from the president. mr. smith, let's start with you. did the president go too far with his criticism saying he wouldn't send his own daughters to the schools? what's your reaction? >> i don't think so. it's been obvious for quite some time now that the president and quite frankly, a lot of local leaders, too aren't willing to send their own kids to their neighborhood school or to d.c. public schools at large. i think what is unclear and a lot of people are being given the misimpression that they don't measure up by any of our standards, not by parents, not by teachers, not by the black community in d.c. or the white community and sometimes we seem to overlook that and think simply the media or some of our politicians or local leaders are the only ones upset with the crisis we are in here in d.c. pub

of this investigation and ultimately the reimbursement that may have to be paid out joining by jeff smithith the utility there. more now on the affected area. mr. smith good morning. can you hear me? has the gas is shut off. >> gas in the immediate area has been shut off. there are 300 homes without gas at this time. the priority right now is working with officials to help make the situation safe. first and foremost i need to mention our thoughts go out to everyone who has been impacted by the spirithis. our thoughts and pras are with them. >> i have no recollection recollection of an event this magnitude. we have never seen anything like this in your lifetime i there? >> it is a terrible situation we are working with the first responders to make the situation safe. we are working with the red cross to make sure emergency shelter and necessity of life are provided. we're working with them. clearly it's a terrible terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to those. >> now you mentioned the gas has been shut off? has a gas clear the lines? >> hello? the other issue? >> we may have lost tampcam

receiving from social security income. >> reporter: smith bay and king are being held on charges of attempted murder, assault and faults imprisonment. jeff haying ar, abc 2 news. >> police say the couple also took the victim's 1-year-old baby away from her and that child has been placed in the custody of social services. other small children in the home, they say, were aware of the victim's abuse and would often try to sneak her a blanket as she slept on the floor of the bathroom. >>> in democracy 2010 tonight challenger greg bernstein has widened his lead in the race for city state attorney. city election workers finished counting out ballots this afternoon, before that he held a 1295 lead over jess a me. his lead now stands at 1363 votes as cording to the baltimore city board of elections web site. there were more than 2,000 absentee ballots to be counted. there are still more than 1700 provisional ballots. election judges will decide whether to accept each ballot but that process will not start until next wednesday. >>> well school is in session and so is underaged drinking at colleges across the nation. a message to parents, research

jeff bush, kron 4 news. >> these four people and arrested posing as victims and trying to receive aid. from left to right, ms. smith, lissette justin, and bennett, taylor, are guilty of submitting drivers supplications living in the burned out area. and with perjury, and submitting forged documentation to a government agency. moment at portola elementary in san bruno and it was evacuated. after the smell of natural gas from a parent reported. less than 1 mi. from the gas line explosion. after inspected, but nothing was found, perhaps carbon monoxide was built and anfrom the heating system that was first she turned on. >> the san mateo officials are concerned that the activity of around the air quality. and officials could keep the cash out of the air with spray. >> we did some digging, out pg&e is spinning your money. -spring our money, and in 2007, they needed $5 million for repairing a natural gas pipelines. within just miles of the san bruno explosion. three years later, it has not been done and and that same year. pg&e had spent $5 million on bonuses for six of its highly paid executives! in the month of june,