Family Sues PG&E, Alameda County Over Pipeline Explosion That Destroyed Their Home

A family whose home in the Hayward area was obliterated in a PG&E pipeline explosion last year has filed a lawsuit against the utility, two construction contractors, and Alameda County. The Duenas family alleges negligence, public nuisance, and trespass, among other claims, in connection with the December 11, 2025 blast that leveled their rented home in the unincorporated community of Ashland.

On the morning of the explosion, Jesus Duenas Ponce, his sister Maria del Socorro Duenas Ponce, and her adult daughter Soledad Flores were at the residence on the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard. Two other plaintiffs, Jorge Duenas Ponce and del Socorro Duenas Ponce’s son, were not home at the time.

According to the lawsuit, a crew from Mayo Asphalt Milling struck and damaged a gas service line while performing excavation work at approximately 7:25 a.m. The crew was a subcontractor to Redgwick Construction Co., which had been hired by Alameda County for a road upgrade project.

Mayo Asphalt notified PG&E about the damaged pipeline, and the utility dispatched personnel who isolated the line and stopped the gas flow by 9:25 a.m. The Alameda County Fire Department also responded but left after a PG&E employee said assistance was not needed, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation.

At 9:37 a.m., an explosion leveled the Duenas home and significantly damaged at least two neighboring houses. Attorney Niall McCarthy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy stated, "For more than two hours, these defendants knew gas was leaking near this family’s home, and not one of them knocked on the door and told the Duenas family to leave."

Flores and del Socorro Duenas Ponce were asleep and injured when a wall collapsed on them. The mother suffered a fractured neck, burns to her hands, arms, and face, injuries to her throat and jaw, and required a breathing machine and multiple surgeries.

Her daughter sustained two broken ribs requiring surgery. Jesus Duenas Ponce broke several bones when thrown into the basement by the explosion and suffered extensive burns as he crawled out of the debris.

He has undergone multiple surgeries and has limited mobility and hand function. The family also lost all their belongings.

The NTSB investigation noted that a PG&E crew claimed they knocked on the Duenas’ door and neighboring doors but received no response. The lawsuit, announced May 13, alleges this claim is false and contradicted by the family’s account and video evidence from a neighbor’s camera, asserting that PG&E made the false statement to cover up its failure to notify residents.

A PG&E spokesperson said the company is reviewing the suit but declined to comment further due to the ongoing NTSB investigation. Representatives for Alameda County, the construction companies, and the property owner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.