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Water main break causes flooding in L.A. area

Authorities say a burst water main in the Los Angeles suburb of Studio City has forced people out of their homes and flooded the famous Ventura Boulevard.
Image: Businesses along Ventura Blvd. in Studio City Calif. are flooded after a water main burst
Businesses along Ventura Blvd. in Studio City Calif. are flooded after a water main burst under Coldwater Canyon Blvd early Sunday morning. Mike Meadows / AP
/ Source: The Associated Press

Crews were cleaning up mud and broken asphalt Sunday after a deluge from a burst water main swept cars down streets, forced people out of their homes and flooded a section of a major Los Angeles boulevard.

The water flow from the broken pipe was stopped after about four hours, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Jane Galbraith said. The burst main is part of the city's original water system, dating to 1914, and was slated for repair, she said.

A section of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City would be closed for at least two days, officials said.

No injuries were reported after the 64-inch main broke late Saturday night, but firefighters rescued a person who was in a car that had been swept away in the flooding, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said. It was not immediately clear how many cars were damaged.

More than 125 firefighters responded and redirected water toward a storm drain, Scott said.

Water was several feet deep in some places and had damaged homes and businesses, Scott said. A shelter for displaced residents was set up at a middle school.

The broken main is a major trunk line that takes water from the Los Angeles Reservoir in the northern San Fernando Valley to another reservoir north of Beverly Hills, Galbraith said.

The trunk line does not feed individual customers so no homes or businesses will lose service, Galbraith said. She said water pressure may be a little lower than normal until the line is fixed.