San Bruno, CA – Specially trained dogs combing of a gas line explosion in San Bruno found three more victims Saturday, bringing the total deaths from the incident to seven.

“Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragedy,” San Bruno police Chief Neil Telford said in a statement.

A press conference was scheduled for 8 a.m. Sunday morning to discuss how residents, displaced since the explosion two days ago, could return to their homes.

Homes that have been completely destroyed will remain off-limits, while other residents whose houses have sustained moderate damage may only be allowed back to collect some belongings, said San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson.

Some residents may be allowed to reoccupy their homes, Jackson said.

Several victims of the massive explosion, which happened at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday evening at Skyline Boulevard and San Bruno Avenue, have not been able to get past barricades and see if their homes are even standing.

As of Friday evening, San Bruno fire Chief Dennis Haag said 37 homes had been destroyed by the explosion and eight had sustained moderate damage.

Almost 60 people were injured in the fire, which resulted from a gas line exploding in the middle of the neighborhood.

Reams of data and records have been requested from PG&E about the gas pipe, National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman Christopher Hart said at a Saturday evening briefing.

The segment of pipe that blew out onto the street was 28 feet long, the explosion sent that piece of pipe about 100 feet and the blast created a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide, he said.

An inspection of the severed pipe chunk revealed that it was made of several smaller sections that had been welded together and that a seam ran its length, Hart said.

The presence of the welds did not necessarily indicate the pipe had been repaired, he said. Asked whether a welded pipe was more susceptible to leaks or corrosion, Hart said: “Maybe, and maybe not.”

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(Source: KTVU)