Gas blast loss put at 'tens of millions' of dollars

SAN BRUNO, Calif.—Insured property damage from a natural gas explosion that destroyed dozens of buildings in San Bruno, Calif., could reach into the tens of millions of dollars, according to the president of the Insurance Information Institute.

A statement by the Los Angeles-based Insurance Information Network of California said that III President Robert Hartwig based his analysis on emergency responders' description of the devastation.

The California group said as many as 170 houses were damaged or destroyed by the Thursday explosion of a natural gas line and that insurance adjusters had been dispatched to the area.