you can't really love me. i know about gayle. i don't know what you're talking about. if you just tell me what happened... [ ding ] [ man ] 35th and archer. next stop hamilton. [ brakes hiss ] ♪ [ male announcer ] now you can watch hit tv shows on your iphone when you get at&t u-verse tv. at&t. rethink possible. the epicenter of a disaster. survivors talking with strangers. help pouring out from everywhere. tonight, the aftermath of the san bruno explosion. the devastation, the fire out and everything gone. >> you can rebuild a house but

not a family. >> strangers help survivors. >> in tragedies the best of people come out. >> tonight, hope and the search for what went wrong. good evening, i'm lisa kim. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. we have live team coverage of that explosion beginning now. our vicky nguyen with incredible ground scene pictures. >> more with the victims. first, investigators just briefed jean elie. >> reporter: ntsb investigators met with pg and e. they said it will take time to figure out why a neighborhood was leveled. the explosion launched a huge piece of ruptured fuel pipe out of the ground. ntsb investigators say the blast had to have tremendous force. >> it is really quite amazing to see this huge piece of pipeline blown the distance that it was

blown -- above the ground and out onto the street. >> reporter: the 30-inch pipeline was installed in 1956. it may tell investigators why it ruptured. they planned to send part of it to a lab in washington for analysis. four people died in the inferno that followed the rupture. we have learned 44-year-old jack lien grieg and her daughter and 20-year-old jessica morales did not survive. 52 people were injured. seven are hospitalized with critical burn injuries. four firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation. firefighters say there are still three homes left to search. if the areas are cool enough tomorrow, canine crews will finish the search for additional victims. we for you have a clear picture of just how widespread the damage is. 37 houses in red. san bruno fire says those homes are destroyed. in blue, seven homes that have major or minor damage.

tonight a representative says she can't answer any questions about the deadly incident because the ntsb is involved. >> you won't tell me how old the system is? >> no, because i don't want to violate federal law. we want to know what happened. we really want to know. while we know that our gas pipeline ruptured, we don't know why. >> reporter: pg & e will have to provide answers to investigators. the ntsb is requesting everything from maintenance records to drug tests for employees. the fire chief says there are still hot spots in the burn zone tonight. he's got crews up there overnight to make sure they don't flare up. he says tomorrow the priority is to give people who still have homes in the neighborhood a chance to get in and bring belongings out. the ntsb said it will provide another update about its investigation tomorrow afternoon. live in san bruno, jean elie. we have more probation on her daughter who was 13. they lived just yards from where

that explosion occurred. greg spent more than 20 years working for the utilities commission, the very agency that regulates pg&e. coal workers call her an advocate for consumers. also, an 81-year-old woman also feared dead in that explosion. but no word on her identity just yet. well, almost 24 hours to the minute after that gas line burst in an inferno incinerated that neighborhood, pg&e allowed a few reporters to walk through the ashes. among them, our own jodi hernandez. vicky nguyen joins us to show up the first hundred-close ground video. to see it is just stunning. >> reporter: absolutely, jessica. jodi and the photographer were on the first crew on the ground. they had about 30 minutes to survey the scene firsthand. as jodi said, it's unlike she's

ever seen in 20 years of reporting. >> as we walked down that street, it changed from a normal neighborhood to a nuclear zone. >> reporter: reporter jodi hernandez giving her account of what it looks like in this san bruno neighborhood 24 hours after the explosion that killed four people and injured 52 others. >> huge chunk of pipe. it was about 25 feet long. and 30 inches wide. it blew out of the ground and blasted at least 75 feet, landing right in the middle of the street. this huge piece of pipe. imagine the force that it took. and the people who lived right there, that crater is in their front yard. >> you're a reporter. in the other sense, you're a mother of two and you're a family and imagining what they all do, sit down for dinner.

>> absolutely. i heard a story of a mom and a child that were killed in this. my heart just goes out to them. you know, i was so thankful this morning when i drove my 6-year-old to school. >> reporter: what were the crews doing some what was happening on the ground? >> there was actually quite a bit of activity. pg&e was out there it looked like replacing some of the power lines. there were people actually working in that crater, the source of the explosion. lieutenant governor was really coming down hard today saying, you know, we need some answers. somebody needs to be held accountable. their crews were out there. they weren't talking. >> what a miracle people were able to make it out of what you're describing. >> it's amazing people were able to get out of there. this is something just unbelievable.

being in the bay area, we're used to natural disasters, but this is something that is like a manmade, something that could have been prevented. >> reporter: and that is the question now. could all of this have been avoid avoided? meantime for the families who have lost everything, what now? coming up, we take you inside one of the state-of-the-art mobile insurance trucks. we also explain just how long it does take to rebuild after a disaster like this. reporting live in san bruno, i'm vicky nguyen, nbc bay area news. >> rebuilding homes and lives. thank you very much, vicky. a lot of those families are reaching out to one another seeking comfort. >> the people who died. >> several tears were shed tonight during a vigil at the church of the highlands. the pastor reminded his audience that fire is a recurring element in the bible.

there was more support for those who escaped the flames. our cheryl hurd has that story live from the veterans memorial recreational center. cheryl? >> reporter: lisa, the number of evacuees have dwindled to about 20 tonight. so the red cross decided to put them up in hotel rooms tonight. meanwhile, we kept running into many, many stories of survival tonight. in fact, we ran into one man that we are calling a hero. >> i don't think we'll ever forget it. >> reporter: the lewis family, happy to be alive after living through what they call hell on earth. >> we just ran to the front of the house and saw all i could see was a big ball of fire up in the air. >> reporter: they were at their claremont drive home during the explosion. and when they heard the sound and saw the flames, karen lewis knew she had to get her family out of there. >> as i was trying to leave, people were jumping in my car. >> reporter: everyone except her husband, david. a former volunteer firefighter,

lewis said he was determined to stay to protect his home. he was afraid the burning inferno would swallow his home he's lived in for almost 20 years. but he ended up helping save the life of a badly injured woman. >> the skin was coming off her hand. her face was all black, hair was all singed. i laid down and then moved her later to another yard and got a hold of her and held her down. >> reporter: he waited 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. he believes she'll recover from her injuries. the family is optimistic about their home. >> we haven't seen it yet, but it's still standing, we've been told. so we're one of the lucky ones. >> it just shows you what the most valuable thing in your house is which is your family. you kind of forget all about your cell phones, your keys, ipods, laptops. and you just worry about your family the most. you can rebuild a house but you can't rebuild a family. >> reporter: david is probably

cringing tonight if he's watching this story because he told me he saddam hussein consider himself a hero. he says his family is lucky because they can stay with family members until they can go back into their home. reporting live in san bruno, i'm cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >> he's got one smart daughter, too. thank you. for the victims of this blast, there are so many unanswered questions. san bruno city leaders hope to answer some of those at a town hall meeting tomorrow. that meeting will provide information on accessing services and give details about the response to thursday's explosion and fire. the meeting if you're interested will take place at 2:00 at st. roberts catholic church which is at 1380 crystal springs road, obviously in san bruno. seeing all the heart ache and heroism has inspires people all across the area to give back with blood donations. there are four burn victims at st. francis hospital. the donor s more than doubled

from 40 to 125 today. >> all the residents and people who have been injured from it, you know, it's here in our backyard. i can't do much, but i can do this. >> although and wait.ng the red cross being flooded with donations of food and clothing. they say the best way is to people give cash or lien at the 251 city parkway. people can also contribute to the san bruno relief fund. that's set up by the san francisco foundation. and our coverage of the san bruno coverage continues. first, a quick check of the weather. >> right now across the bay area we are tracking conditions in the 50s and low to mid-60s.

look towards at our upper 60s and low 70s. more on the explosion coming up. . failure to communicate. a pipeline researcher talks to us about what we weren't. and preparing for disaster. what you and your family should do tonight. bufirst, one woman's story how she escaped out of an inferno. >> i looked out the front windows to the house, and i could see the sun was red, orangey. i could see all the smoke, debris flying everywhere. i didn't know how to react. it looked like the world was going to end. i was, like, please save us. he didn't know what to do. we just jumped in the car. >> everything's gone. my car and the house. it'serere's s nothing rerererere [ male announcer ] jerry brown's good old days.

but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed.

and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth. amid the rubble, an ironic headline. a singed newspap lying on the ground in san bruno.

our own jodi hernandez snapped this picture in that decimated neighborhood. take a closer look at the headline. it reads "preparing for the worst scenarios." an issue that may have come too late for this particular disaster. now, that is just one of dozens of photos posted on our website. nbcbayarea.com dedicated to this story. lots of personal amazing touching heartbreaking stories of the people affected by this disaster. could that disaster been avoided? there were reports of pg&e crew was working in the area a week before that devastating explosion. and left without saying a word to the neighbors according to the residents there. now, he's an engineering specialist. i asked if lack of communication is to blame. >> that potentially could be the case.

in our research, 80% of catastrophic engineering failure are due to human factor. only 20% are due to the what we call intrinsic things like pipeline fluctuation, earthquakes, hurricanes. and of that 80%, one of the number one reasons is poor communication. between parties. >> but something is wrong and something needs to be done right away. >> go might be detected, but because of a communication breakdown, it's not corrected. you know. perhaps, like you said, people in the community melt the gas leak leaks. however, perhaps there was a communication breakdown with the report going to pg&e and going to the maintenance crew and actually taking corrective

action. that is unfortunately a not-so-common scenario. >> what do we learn from this catastrophic failure. and secondly, the people that will move back into the surrounding areas eventually, do they have something to worry about? >> i think it stresses me the risk management of our infrastructure. we need to manage the likelihood and also our efforts of living in the community to assure that the entire integrity of that pipeline has been checked, that their maintenance practices are up to center standards to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again, especially since it's in such a hype r

connective pit he said turning on a light switch or the stove could have exploded that e ex-farmers insurance and several foebl phone trucks had laptops, food, supplies. the truck was deployed last night. it arrived this morning. so far the company has helped 28 clients, but they say anyone who needs access to their resources is welcome to use them for free. you don't have to be, that rebuilding process can take years. >> i know some homes, what the owner wants, what you need to replace. >> families with insurance will have access immediately.

>> the red cross is also partnering with these. seeing the ferocity and how quickly that fireball engulfed those homes has people wondering, over. believe it or not, housekeeping can make the difference in keeping your home safe. >> reporter: if you have this kind of a stove in use house or apartment, there are gas lines in your neighborhood. and if that's the case, then the situation in san bruno is possible here although not possible. >> fire officials. >> can they these things in any city? yes. >> reporter: the l.a. city fire department has an environmental unit whose crisscross ed to hel

officials find and prevent dangerous leaks. >> if there's a problem, i can go to the meter and shut it down right now. >> the shut off valve, but his safety lesson barbecue. he told us about a common mistake, lighting a match to see if there's a leak. >> even friction, you have a spark and nour a better off calling the gas company or his leagues at the fire department for direction. inside the house, you have an even greater concern. consequence great ed. >> kitchens are the host, giving a leak and a spark something to burn.

>> as you can see, sometimes housekeeping is an issue. our friend here is doing a good job. >> he says a good real of thumb is keen your nose in some circumstances. if you hear a hissing, whooshing or roaring sound coming from mains like this, thet away and call them immediately. gordon tokognatsu. >> so many things we have to worry about so you know what to do in case something bad happens. >> i know, we're thinking about it. over and over again. >> frightening. >> the search continues for that fire is financed and ash. what about winds? >> winds through tomorrow. especially a factor for folks

living downwind. anywhere to the immediate east where it happened. winds 15 to 20. and also, some of the hot spots. winds out of the north west at about five. we have seen it kick up in the gusts of 15 to 20 in the ks couple hours. as we head into tomorrow. here's just one of many pictures there on nbcbayarea.com. winds out of the west. meanwhile, tonight, it is mild out here with upper 60s to low 70s in the east bay and also for the south bay. we have a little bit of fog near the coastline where we're finding cooler temperatures in san francisco down into san mateo. tomorrow it's going to get warm inland with plenty of 80s. at the coastline it's going to stay breezy. take a look, possibly

early-season rain by the end of next week. but no rain for the weekend. high pressure is returning and 60s and 70s. not as much fog. good news. sunshine at the coastline. tomorrow east day, 78, starting off with 58. by 10:00 a.m. and a chilly start. seven-day forecast, more on this anytime on theweath theweatherchannel.com. as we mentioned, early season rain may come by thursday and friday. still ahead, how the west was won. first place on the line. can we finally come up big against the padres? the answer in sports. get any phone free only at verizon

when you buy the hot new samsung fascinate with its super amoled screen. get a free samsung intensity, a free blackberry bold or any other phone in our lineup. don't miss out. offer ends soon. buy a samsung fascinate and any other phone is free. only at verizon. as governor, he cut waste got rid of the mansion and the limo budgets were balanced. $4 billion in tax cuts. world class schools and universities. clean energy promoted. 1.9 million new jobs created. california was working. i'm jerry brown. california needs major changes. we have to live within our means; we have to return power and decision making to the local level-closer to the people and no new taxes without voter approval. jerry brown the knowledge and know-how to get california working again.

that explosion is delaying the identification of a second body connected to an east bay killing spree found in a hercules home last night. two weeks after that home was first searched. police haven't ruled out that 35-year-old salas as the victim. he's been miss since his father's body was found two ago. the coroner asked the forensic identity, but that doesn't neat it if frederick salas was the

victim, the clo-- held captive in iran more than a year now, they'll not be let go overnight as previously promised. iranian lewis cannot be released. everything we do. belief in it's a 5 year, 50,000 mile promise. with complimentary scheduled maintenance no-cost replacement of wear and tear items and 24/7 roadside assistance. because when you create the most beautiful, fast cars on earth, you create an ownership experience to match.

but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed. and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth. maybe jonathan sanchez got his padres series mixed up. he made a prediction last month the giants would sweep the padres, didn't go as planned but that was then. enter this weekend's rematch. on the line.

san francisco took game one last night. tonight at petco park, sanchez trying to put his game where his mouth is. the giants entered up with game back. bottom five no score. sanchez in a jam. runners on first and second. gets adrian gonzalez to ground into the double play. inning over. sanchez, five scoreless, one hit, walked seven but still did not allow a run. damage contained. top seven, runners on the corners. juan uribe, grounder to third. nate schuerholz, that means they can't get the second out, and aubrey huff scores. brian wilson going for the five-out safe. 42nd save. right here in the bay area tonight, a battle of cy young award candidates. top one, the very first batter that take hill faced. he is going long.

coco crisp, the leap, brings that ball back over the fence to r bottom one. two on for kurt suzuki, drops the double. cahill five runs in -- buchholz five runs. cahill, 60th of the se a's win 5-0. a's win 5-0. and that's your look at sports. ) but destroys fleas. a'soskr y aouveterinarian adr va aage, the flea specialist for gentle, but effective, flea control. i thought it was over here... ♪ [car horn honks] our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back.

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least four are dead and 50 injured after the massive gas explosion. seven of the victims in critical condition. we're learning that 44-year-old jacqueline greg and her 13-year-old daughter were among those killed. the third victim has been identify as 20-year-old jessica more rap less. in a7 severely damaged. >> obviously, stay with nbc bay area and nbcbayarea.com. we also have slide shows and video online. and we'll be updating the latest all weekend long. as we leave you for two very happy days, our hearts and prayers here go out to everyone there. [ woman sighs ]