Fairfax Fires Die, Gas Pressure Dips Sharply

Methane gas flames spouting from the earth of the Fairfax District burned lower--and then winked out--Tuesday when a vent was opened nearby, and authorities said this could be a sign of better things to come.

Pressure of the underground gas that exploded Sunday, injuring 22 people, demolishing a discount clothing store and forcing evacuation of four square blocks, appeared to be dropping sharply, Los Angeles Deputy Fire Chief Don Anthony said.

However, earlier plans to release and burn off gas from a vent well that had been drilled Tuesday were abandoned Tuesday night and postponed until 8 a. m. today. The delay effectively killed earlier hopes that many businesses in the area could safely reopen by noon today.

Fire Chief Donald O. Manning said the flaring and final touches on the well were delayed to give the exhausted drilling crew, which had worked 18 hours straight, a rest.

“We just feel it’s prudent to take every precaution,” he said.

Meanwhile, the effects of Sunday’s powerful explosion continued to be felt:

- Six of the people injured in the blast remained hospitalized Tuesday--two of them still in critical condition--and one new, though minor, injury was reported when an engineer was struck in the eye by drilling mud while working on the vent well.

- The possibility of new explosions remained an ever-present concern as Fire Department crews monitored gas concentrations elsewhere in the area.

- More than 400 elementary school students were still being bused out of the area.

- Businesses in the danger area remained closed, with losses of sales estimated at $500,000 a day.

Drilling of the 12-inch-wide hole--first of five proposed vent-and-flare wells in the parking lot of the Ross Dress for Less store, which lost its roof, walls and windows in the original explosion--began just before 10 p.m. Monday and continued to a depth of more than 80 feet Tuesday.

At about 45 feet, Deputy Fire Chief Anthony said, there was a sudden surge of pressure as the well reached a pocket of gas immersed in sand and oil. The surge threw a plug of mud--used to reduce friction in the drilling process--into the eyes of engineer Ed Santiago of the state Division of Gas and Oil. He was released in good condition after receiving emergency treatment.

The sudden release of pressure also produced a response from the flames that have been spouting from cracks in the ground around the store ever since Sunday.

Half of Original Size

“They dropped to less than half their original height,” he said.

The fires finally went out during the afternoon, and by 5 p.m., methane readings in the vicinity of the new well were effectively zero, according to a Fire Department spokesman.

They began to rise again during the night hours, with gas saturation percentages reaching as high as 60% or 70% in a few areas, as unburned vapor escaped into the air through the fissures in the ground.

Lighting of the flare on the 12-foot tower erected atop the vent well was repeatedly postponed.

Fire officials said this was partly in order to permit hardening of cement around the well casing and partly because the gas seeping up again from the fissures posed a new hazard.

“We want just one fire--on top of the flare stack,” said mining engineer James Brundt, a consultant called in by the Fire Department, “not 50 fires coming out of the ground again.”

Nonetheless, the general spirit remained one of optimism.

Richard Manuel of the Division of Gas and Oil and Dr. Ronald Lofy, an engineer called in for consultation, agreed with Anthony that the decline in pressure could mean the pocket of underground gas is smaller than originally believed. They also agreed that the other four vents might not have to be drilled after all.

“Obviously,” Lofy said, “there are different ways of doing this, but for the time being, we have decided to use the single-hole approach.”

“We’ll have a better feel for it after we’ve flared (burned off the gas) for 6 to 20 hours,” Lofy added.

Manning explained the postponement, saying: “We’re shutting down for the night. We’re encountering no technical problems, but the drillers have been at it for 18 hours and we’re concerned about the fatigue factor. We want that drilling team fresh before going into the next stage.

“The next stage is the delicate one, and we want to be sure that the concrete is set (hardened); that it doesn’t get shaken and perhaps cracked, thus permitting the gas to escape. We want to make sure there are no mistakes.”

As a last step, the drillers placed a valve choking off any gas flow from the well. City fire crews monitored gas readings in the area during the night.

Meanwhile, pupils at Hancock Park Elementary School were bused with their teachers to several other locations for classes Tuesday.