Backhoe Breaks Gas Line in Montecito

A backhoe digging a culvert at the intersection of Butterfly and High roads in Montecito accidentally hit a gas line at around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday morning and knocked out gas service to 28 homes in the area.

Crews are working to repair the line, but Geri Ventura with the Montecito Fire Protection District — explaining Southern California Gas Company personnel need to enter each individual property to turn the pilot lights back on — said it will be “some time” before all the work is done.

While the leak has been secured, a number of intersections — Butterfly Lane/Oriole Road; Butterfly Lane/Middle Road; High Road/Middle Road — remain closed to traffic until the area is fully secured.