Thursday evening shortly after 6 p.m., an underground gas line erupted in San Bruno, Ca. near highways 280 and 380, Skyline Boulevard and Sneath Lane leaving many homeless and four confirmed dead as of this morning.

“I thought it was a plane or helicopter crashing,” says William Kennebrew who attends Skyline College in San Bruno.

According to abclocal.com it was discovered that the 24-inch gas line belongs to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). They said they will take full responsibility and have yet determined the cause of the gas break. Once it erupted, a fireball up to 50-feet in the air was created burning down houses, setting cars on fire and leaving people frantic.

“My house is gone. I’m trying to keep from just breaking down. Everything’s gone,” said Tina Pellegrini, whose home was near Claremont and Glenview drives. “I was in my bedroom and heard a boom,” Pellegrini said.

Pellegrini added, “My house was shaking. I thought it was an earthquake. I got the dog to go ride it out. We look out the living room window and it was orange. I had the forethought to put on my shoes and grab my purse and run out of my house. I could feel the fire from five houses away. It was so intense.”

One of AT&T’s towers have been destroyed which leaves customers in the surrounding areas either without service or they are not able to make a proper phone call. There is also no power and many are surviving off of water.

The initial explosion blew out a water line and fire fighters were without water for the first 30 minutes. Crews are shuttling water from nearby sources including a reservoir.

As of 9 a.m. today the fire is 75% contained. The fire is currently still active in certain areas.

Evacuation centers have been set up at the San Bruno Veterans Memorial Recreation Center and the connecting senior center at 251 City Park Way. About 200 residents are being housed there.

Residents are also gathering at Tanforan and Bay Hill shopping centers. The Bay Area Red Cross is set up at Bay Hill to provide victim assistance.

The PETCO at the Tanforan shopping center is offering overnight shelter for small animals. The address is 1150 El Camino Real, San Bruno.

Red Cross has a hotline for victims to call at 1-888-443-5722. People looking for loved ones should try contacting them by phone until the Red Cross has more information available.

If interested in helping or volunteering with the Bay Area Red Cross go to http://www.redcrossbayarea.org.