Residents describe dramatic moments when explosion, fire hit near Hayward
Witnesses describe scene from explosion, fire near Hayward
KTVU's Jana Katsuyama reports from the scene and spoke with witnesses who described what they saw and heard.
Six people were injured from an explosion and fire in a residential neighborhood near Hayward that also destroyed homes, shut down a freeway, and prompted evacuations on Thursday.
The blast happened at a construction site in the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard at about 9:40 a.m., after a third party work crew damaged an underground gas line, according to PG&E.
‘Scene from Hollywood’
Residents in the area said the explosion was thunderous, shaking their homes. They could hear the boom from the explosion and see the fire.
Neighbor Christian Maldanado shared Nest doorbell video that caught the explosion.
The dramatic scene included a blast that shot smoke and debris into the air. It sent shattered glass across his yard.
What they're saying:
"Suddenly, we heard a loud bang, it shook the whole house," he said. "I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe an earthquake, something simple, but it was way too abrupt to be an earthquake."
He rushed outside and found a debris field.
"It was just scary, you know, just a big explosion. And we were just, I was just kind of traumatized, worried for my neighbors," Maldanado said, adding, "It was like a scene from Hollywood. It was unreal."
Windows blown out
A neighbor named Deborah, who lives next door to the house, told KTVU that she was in bed when the explosion happened. Her own house was damaged.
"Next thing I know, you hear an explosion and the roof fell in on me. The inner roof with all, with everything," she said.
She said she called out to her husband who was in the kitchen.
Deborah, a nearby resident, said her windows were blown out by the explosion near Hayward, Calif. on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
"He saw the gas go down on the gas line, and within a minute, the explosion hit. Every window in my house is blown open, cracks in the ceilings. It's destroyed," Deborah said.
The woman said luckily, she and her husband managed to escape safely.
She also said that the construction had been going on for some time and that there was opposition to the project.
"They've been doing these roads for months," she said. "The last couple of days, they've been really digging out, hopefully laying cement, the last of it."
She said she heard the crews out at about 7:30 a.m. and her husband feared they had hit a gas line.
"Just so you know, we all fought this," she said. "They took part of our yard."
Another resident who said he lives about a mile away, said he felt the shaking from the blast from his own home. The resident, Steve, said he jumped into his car to check on his aunt who lives in the area of the explosion.
"I was worried, but she finally called me back," he said, and noted that she was safe but remained without power.