Although Gerry Guernsey's home burned to the ground, the covered patio in the backyard managed to escape total destruction during the Sept. 9 firestorm.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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With some residents watching from amid the rubble of destroyed homes, a San Bruno firefighter affixes an American flag to a light pole at the corner of Claremont Drive and Glenview Drive about 200 yards from where the pipeline exploded on Sept 9.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Residents gaze out and take pictures of their neighborhood in ruins during a bus tour that gave them their first look at the damage.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Residents walk the gutted remains of their San Bruno neighborhood.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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At a reentry center in San Bruno, burn victim Julio Locon, 49, sees that his home is marked inside the red line that encircles damaged homes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Residents of Glenview Drive embrace as they return home for the first time since a gas line exploded nearby.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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At the reentry registration center in San Bruno, Carol Ash clutches her daughter Emily's drawing of normal life before the pipeline explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Dennis Costanza talks with neighbor Jim Marr about the horrific moments following the pipeline blast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Geraldine Milam, age 90, gives an approving smile to PG&E gas worker Bomani Green after he restored utilities to her undamaged home on Claremont Drive The widow managed to stay in her long-time in spite of the neighborhood evacuation, living by candlelight and using bottled water she had on hand.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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A resident scrapes away an inspection sticker attached to a Claremont Drive home. The house was deemed habitable, allowing residents to move back in.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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PG&E crews erect a power pole at the corner of Claremont and Glenview Drives as rebuilding begins three days after the gas line explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Forensic investigators sift through charred debris at 1690 Claremont Drive, searching for evidence of human remains. Several residents of this site have been missing since Thursday's natural gas pipeline explosion incinerated the home and 36 others.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Neighbors Tracie Pyers, right, and Dennis Costanzo embrace amid the ashen ruins of their neighborhood. Their homes were deemed safe for return, but others were not so lucky.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Step-sisters Cassie Scribner, left, 11, and Paige Dickson, 12, lug a carton of donated clothing to a collection center in San Bruno. The girls volunteered to help take in food and clothing for victims after they witnessed the fireball near their San Bruno home. Paige said, "We knew they'd do it for us."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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One of dozens of homes gutted in the San Bruno natural-gas pipeline explosion. Officials late Saturday said the death toll had risen to seven, and six remained missing.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEPHEN LAM / REUTERS

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Emergency workers take a break from the search for survivors in a burned San Bruno neighborhood Saturday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Noah Berger / FR34727 AP

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Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt discusses the San Bruno pipeline explosion at a packed town hall meeting Saturday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Thousands of people filled the sanctuary and balcony of St. Robert's Church.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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St. Roberts Church was overflowing with residents of the Glenview neighborhood that was devastated in Thursday's explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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During a mostly orderly meeting of San Bruno residents, some frustrated people shout about being locked out of their neighborhood.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Michelle Sherwin comforts her daughter, Jessica, at the town hall meeting. They have not been allowed in their home since a natural-gas pipeline ruptured, leaving a wide path of destruction.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Roberto Andrey, pastor of St. Robert's Church, comforts a resident who was burned when the gas line in her neighborhood exploded Thursday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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San Bruno residents stand to applaud Police Chief Neil Telford, second from right, and Fire Chief Dennis Haag during a town hall meeting at St. Robert's Church.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Harold W. Brooks, chief executive of the Bay Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, speaks to thousands of residents at St. Roberts Church during a town hall meeting Saturday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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A view of the Bay Area neighborhood of Crestmoor Park devastated by Thursday evening's natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PETER DASILVA / European Pressphoto Agency

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A melted bicycle, ruined vehicles and the remains of what were once homes are seen on Claremont Drive the morning after Thursday evening's natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Firefighters on Friday check for hot spots in the rubble of homes along Claremont Drive in San Bruno, Calif., that were destroyed in Thursday's deadly natural-gas pipeline explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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A search dog sniffs the rubble of a house about 500 yards from the site of the natural-gas pipeline explosion on Glenview Drive in San Bruno, Calif. At least four people were killed and 52 others injured in Thursday's blast, and on Friday rescuers were still searching for possible victims.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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PG&E utility inspectors on Friday look at the crater left after Thursday’s natural-gas pipeline explosion on Glenview Drive in San Bruno, Calif. The broken pipe landed about 100 feet from the site of the blast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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This crater on Glenview Drive was left after Thursday evening's natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif. A part of the pipe, seen in the background, landed about 100 feet from the site of the blast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Little could be salvaged from the homes destroyed in the blast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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A sign from one of the destroyed homes on Claremont Drive.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Charred remains of one of the destroyed homes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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The neighborhood around Glenview Drive and Claremont Drive in San Bruno, where 38 homes were destroyed and at least four people died when a natural gas pipeline exploded.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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PG&E utility inspectors look at the crater left after a natural gas pipeline exploded yesterday on Glenview Drive, killing 4 people, injuring dozens and destroying 37 homes. A broken pipe is visible where it landed in the middle of the street, about 100 feet from the blast hole.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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PG&E linemen assemble a pole as the rebuilding begins in the neighborhood devastated by a ruptured gas line explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Public Utilities Commission huddle with a PG&E inspector over the 30-inch natural gas pipeline that exploded Thursday and landed in the street 100 feet away in a San Bruno neighborhood.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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Bystanders watch, some taking photos, as the massive fire burns in the hills.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: John Green / San Mateo County Times

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Emergency crews inspect the smoldering remains of a neighborhood after Thursday's explosion, which killed at least four.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Dozens of homes sit smoldering on Claremont Drive hours after Thursday evening's natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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A large crater is all that remains on Earl Avenue, where the gas main exploded.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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San Bruno Fire Capt. Charlie Barringer looks over "ground zero," where a 24-inch gas line exploded, destroying nearby homes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Firefighters protect a house after the massive explosion and fire. Dozens of people were injured and at least four were killed in a natural gas explosion.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PETER DASILVA / European Pressphoto Agency

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Emergency crews inspect the San Bruno neighborhood as dozens of homes sit smoldering hours after a 24-inch gas main exploded.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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A body lays covered near the driveway of a Claremont Drive home.Dozens of homes were destroyed as heavy winds stoked the intense flames from the burning gas main.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

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Crews battle house fires after the explosion that rocked the neighborhood.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PETER DASILVA / EPA

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Firefighters shoot water from their firehoses during the massive blaze. Live television footage showed numerous homes destroyed, with flames reaching high into the air.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: George Nikitin / Associated Press

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A frame grab from KPIX-5 TV shows houses being consumed by the huge fire.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KPIX-5 TV

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A massive fire roars through a mostly residential neighborhood. Firefighters from San Bruno and surrounding cities battled the blaze that started on a hillside and consumed numerous homes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press

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A massive fire burned homes as it roared through a mostly residential neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco following a loud explosion Thursday evening that shot a fireball more than 1,000 feet into the air and sent frightened residents fleeing for safety, witnesses said.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

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Firefighters help a woman after the explosion, which destroyed numerous homes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mike Adaskaveg / Associated Press

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A firefighting helicopter flies over the massive blaze. Firefighters' efforts were hampered by winds that reportedly reached more than 30 mph.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: George Nikitin / Associated Press

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Flames loom behind homes after the explosion that shot a fireball more than 1,000 feet into the air and sent frightened residents fleeing for safety.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

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The massive fire roars through the neighborhood.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

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