UPDATE at 11:30 a.m.: Both lanes of Pacific Coast Highway are now open and evacuations of 30 homes and 20 businesses have been lifted.
Original: Attention motorists in Pacific Palisades, Pacific Coast Highway was closed in both directions and several homes and businesses were evacuated Thursday when a gas line broke in Eastern Malibu.
The leak was reported at 9:40 a.m. Thursday in the 22000 block of PCH near Carbon Canyon Road, according to the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff's Station.
"They shut the road down for public safety," an on-duty sergeant said.
The initial call came out as a report that a public works crew drove over the line and caused the break, the LA County Fire Department reported.
Thirty residents and 20 businesses were evacuated in the area around the gas line break, according to NCBLA.
PCH was initially closed from Sweetwater Mesa to Carbon Canyon Road and could remain closed for up to three hours, the City of Malibu reported. That closure has been extended from Civic Center Way to Las Flores Canyon Road.
City News Service contributed to this report. Check back for more on this developing story and upload your photos to the story by clicking "Upload Photos & Video."
