Authorities say four of the 11 people injured during a natural gas pipeline blast at a sheriff's gun range in Central California have been released from the hospital. But Fresno County Sheriff's spokesman Tony Botti said Saturday that a jail inmate and a public works employee were in critical condition.
The explosion on a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pipe happened at the Fresno County Sheriff's gun range Friday while an equipment operator was using a front-loader to build a dirt berm to confine gunfire to the range. Botti says a group of county jail inmates was doing cleanup work about 50 feet away. PG&E is investigating the blast, but says it was not notified in advance of any work in the area. Such advanced notice allows PG&E to mark the gas line.