Sounds like they were aware the pipe was likely faulty clear back in the 50’s. Makes ya wonder how much other piping out there needs replacement.
I’ve worked for Southern California Gas company over 36 years. PG&E has always played fast and loose with pipeline safety. It’s an industry-wide open secret. They are so far behind on maintenance on an ancient system that there’s no catching up!
All of it but we would rather reward failure in this country and laziness