Major gas leak prompts road closures, some evacuations along Espinosa Road near Castroville

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- North Monterey County Fire confirms PG&E is sending crews to address a major gas leak near Castroville along Espinosa Road.

It's a leak that both the fire agency and PG&E confirm could impact tens of thousands of people in the Monterey Peninsula if not repaired.

Officials with both agencies said the leak happened along Espinosa Road when a tractor struck a gas line.

A home and business had to be evacuated as a result.

"We responded quickly and are working with first responders on site to keep the area safe, assess the damage, and develop a repair plan. Currently there is no impact to gas customers," said PG&E. "This is an all-hands-on-deck response for us and crews are working safely and quickly in response to the third-party dig-in."

Monterey County says they've also issued a shelter-in-place due to the gas leak that applies to the area from Highway 183 to 192 Espinosa Road.

Highway 183 along Espinosa Road is being shut down all the way to 160 Espinosa Road.

As of 9 p.m. the road was still closed.

PG&E says this gas line is a key transmission line that feeds to the Monterey Peninsula.

There's no ETA on when the road will reopen.

"We want to remind all customers that whether you’re building a fence or using heavy excavating or farm equipment that you should call 8-1-1 in advance to have all underground utilities marked before you dig. We can confirm that there was no active USA ticket for this location," said PG&E.

This is a developing story