FRESNO, Calif. » A California sheriff is disputing an account that suggests a county worker using heavy equipment ruptured a gas pipeline that runs through a gun range, triggering an explosion last week that injured 11 people.

The Fresno Bee reports that Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said Monday the county equipment operator was smoothing dirt, not digging, near the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas line that ruptured on Friday. PG&E said Sunday it appears the vehicle damaged the 12-inch pipeline.

Mims adds that the loader was merely driving on the road near the berm when the gas line ruptured.

The explosion at a gun range owned by the Sheriff’s Foundation occurred while a county employee was using a front-loader to build a dirt berm to confine gunfire to the range.