news story 4 - (revised)

A section of the South of Market area of San Francisco that spanned four blocks was cordoned off by the police today due to an accidental gas leak.
The section of the city was blocked off by police after a construction crew that was working to repair a broken sewer line accidentally ruptured a high-pressure gas lane with one of their back hoes. The sudden evacuation of the area, which covers both Folsom and 11th street, caused traffic to come to a stand-still on neighboring roads.
The evacuation also had an effect on the South of Market businesses, causing many shops to lose customers when they were instructed to leave the area. "Ask my customers. They were pretty irate." says Carlann Lauria, manager of Crocker’s Lockers, a local self storage business, who was forced to have her employees move around the perimeter of the barricade, collecting checks from annoyed customers. Other businesses were forced to cut their losses, such as the Wa-Ha-Ka restaurant, which suffered around $500 in lost revenue, as reported by the manager, Samantha Feldman.
The gas line was repaired at 5:09 p.m., leaving the area shut down for close to six hours.