8th victim of San Bruno explosion dies

SAN BRUNO, Calif. James Franco, 58, was pronounced dead at a San Francisco hospital Monday morning. The cause of death was not yet determined. Franco lived down the block from the epicenter of the gas-line explosion that destroyed 37 homes on Sept. 9.

The gas pipeline is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The state of California had applied for federal disaster aid from the government to cover costs of helping victims of the explosion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined that state and local governments and PG&E have enough money to cover expenses, and denied the request for federal aid.

FEMA did agree to reimburse the state for up to 75 percent of expenses incurred by firefighting the blast.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.