The Region - News from July 30, 1985

A repair crew accidentally severed a two-inch high pressure natural gas line near a busy Santa Monica intersection, causing a leak that forced the temporary evacuation of an apartment building and a business, officials said. No injuries were reported in the leak on Princeton Avenue north of Wilshire Boulevard, Fire Department inspector Jeff Nichol said. Police blocked off traffic to a four-square block area until Southern California Gas Co. workers repaired the line, Sgt. Robert Legerski said. Water crews punctured the pipe while doing repair work with a backhoe, Nichol said.