Rep. Speier unharmed in San Francisco gas fire; lawmaker on scene in California

The natural-gas line explosion that sparked a large
fire and
killed at least four people near San Francisco occurred in Rep. Jackie
Speier’s
district, but the congresswoman and her home were unharmed, a
spokeswoman said.

Speier, a Democrat in her first full term in
office, is on
the scene of the fire and attended a news briefing with local
authorities, spokeswoman Katrina Rill said.

The explosion and fire occurred in San
Bruno,
Calif., and Speier lives in a nearby town. She represents the state’s
12th Congressional District, which covers the southwest quarter of San
Francisco, the city’s airport and several neighboring suburbs.

The fire occurred about eight miles south of
San
Francisco. It has killed at least four people, injured dozens and
destroyed
dozens of homes, authorities said.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who
also
represents San Francisco in California’s 8th District, posted
news about the explosion on her congressional website.

In a statement e-mailed to reporters, Pelosi said Speier and the Bay Area delegation would work with state and local leaders to ensure all necessary assistance is delivered to help the area recover.

“A full investigation must take place in the coming days to
determine the cause of this horrible accident,” said Pelosi, who noted that the National Transportation
Safety Board had already dispatched a team to California.

This story was posted at 11:30 a.m. and updated at 1:56 p.m.