"I'm just glad we were alive": the gas leak leaves thousands of displaced people and is afraid

Vicente Avila, 42, a do-it-yourselfer, who was shooting at a red wooden cart loaded with food estimated at $ 700, rolled his eyes when asked how long he could be away from home.

"We are stuck," he said. "Everything is just frozen in time."

In south Lawrence, sirens continued to cry during the day while police and firefighters set up additional roadblocks, trying to track each new report of another gas leak. No new blasts have been reported.

Marianne Vega, 36, a sales representative, stopped on a bridge to catch her breath, saddened by the condition of her home. "Everything ruined and the fridge smells," she said. Because of the power outage and gas leaks, businesses are stalled, but her husband was working as an Uber driver in Boston.

Ms. Vega said that her family was supposed to move in a few days, but moving trucks would not be able to go home, so they will probably be in their new, unfurnished place.

Others try to make the most of a difficult situation. Carmen Gonzalez, 43, who works in a clothing store, said that she and most of her extended family and a few neighbors had decided to stay home in South Lawrence, regardless of orders. evacuation and lack of gas and electricity. They were afraid their houses would be stolen and they wanted to protect them.

The deserted street gave them plenty of room to play basketball. They put batteries in an arrow box and mounted the music of the bachata. They waited for family and friends outside to bring back food, and on Saturday night they pulled out the grill and burgers and cooked pork chops.

At one point, a truck drove past and handed out bottles of water, toothpaste and travel shampoos.

"I was so happy to see them," Ms. Gonzalez said. "It made me cry."