A construction crew and several residents were evacuated after the crew struck a gas line Thursday afternoon on North La Cumbre Road in Santa Barbara.

At 2:17 p.m., dispatch received a call reporting the leak after crews working on a site at 496 N. La Cumbre Road struck a gas line while digging, according to Matt Wilson, a Santa Barbara city firefighter who was on the scene.

The city Fire Department as well as Santa Barbara County Fire responded to the scene with engines, and discovered that a service line about 50 feet up the driveway on the scene had been struck, Wilson said.

Southern California Gas Co. crews arrived within 10 minutes but were unable to shut off the leak for about a half-hour, he said.

In addition to the construction crews who were evacuated from the area, two residents in nearby homes were evacuated from the three homes on the lot, Wilson said.

The Santa Barbara Police Department was also called in to prevent traffic from flowing through the area while the leak was contained.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.