Posted: August 19, 2005 at 10:30 a.m.
Updated: August 19, 2005 at 2:07 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- An underground electrical explosion rocked the financial district Friday morning, shattering a glass storefront, blasting the cover off a manhole, and forcing police to evacuate panicked office workers to the streets.
The explosion happened in front of the Crocker Galleria shopping center at Kearny and Post streets around 10 a.m. Workers in nearby office buildings said they thought the explosion was an earthquake or a bomb.
Authorities believe that the blast was triggered by an underground electrical transformer fed by a 34,000-volt electrical cable, according to Pacific Gas & Electric spokesperson Paul Moreno. The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but authorities have reportedly ruled out terrorism.
Witnesses say they saw a fireball shoot all the way up to the awning of the Ralph Lauren store shortly after the blast, setting it ablaze before external sprinklers put it out. The explosion was powerful enough to completely destroy the retailer's glass storefront and raise the sidewalk in front of the store about six or seven inches.
It also blew a manhole cover 25 feet across the street, according to San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.
KRON 4's Vic Lee says at least one woman was critically hurt, suffering burns to her arms and other parts of her body. Another woman was reportedly treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, according to authorities.
Evacuations were called at the Charles Schwab building and at the Banana Republic store. Workers on the upper floors of the 37-story Crocker Galleria building were told to remain inside and have not been evacuated.
Kearny St. from Market to Sutter streets, and Post St. from Grant to Montgomery were closed to all cars and pedestrians. The streets were expected to re-open after 1 p.m.
(Copyright 2005, KRON 4. All rights reserved.)
An explosion from an underground utility chamber in downtown San Francisco severely injured a woman and shattered a window at a Ralph Lauren clothing store shortly after 10:00 a.m. Pacific time Friday.    According to a caller to KCBS radio, a woman was engulfed in flames after the explosion triggered a fire in the store.  The fire was quickly put out.

A bomb squad is currently investigating the explosion, and the cause has yet to be determined.  One official said the explosion may have been caused by an electrical transformer. A witness described a fireball coming out of the side of the building

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. company spokesman Paul Moreno has stated that "there was no indication of a gas leak." Moreno also described the aftermath of the blast. "The explosion did displace manhole covers — two round steel ones — and it also displaced a concrete cover as well," Moreno said.

Some accounts have described a rift in the sidewalk caused by the explosion below.

Construction worker Tom Demartini, who was sitting in his truck outside the Ralph Lauren store, stated he saw the sidewalk rise up six or seven inches. "It sounded like a big poof, then there was a lot of smoke," Demartini said. "One woman looked like she was badly burned." 

The burned woman was taken to the emergency room at St. Francis Hospital.  Hospital spokeswoman Linda Gillespie had no immediate comment on her condition. Her name was not released. 

Workers in a nearby office building described how the blast shook their buildings and that they thought it was an earthquake. According to one woman, the elevator in her building stopped. 

Scores of police have evacuated buildings several blocks around the explosion.  Kearny street between Sutter and Market has been closed to both vehicles and pedestrians.