A water main break flooded West Hollywood streets Friday afternoon and caused part of Sunset Boulevard and North La Cienega Boulevard to close, according to officials.
A break at Sunset Boulevard and North Olive Drive (map) was reported around 2:30 p.m., L.A. Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Jane Gailbraith said.
Water rushed down local streets and began pouring into the Grafton on Sunset hotel (map) where crews could be seen sandbagging an entrance, Sky5 aerial footage showed.
The water was finally shut off just before 6 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
A 36-inch pipe was believed to have ruptured, according to a DWP news release. The pipe was steel riveted and was installed in 1916. It was then cement-lined in 1957 to extend its service life, the release stated.
The flooding forced the closure of a number of streets.
Sunset Boulevard near Olive Drive was expected to be closed until around midnight, according to LAFD spokesman Erik Scott.
At the height of the flooding, Sunset Boulevard was closed between North La Cienega Boulevard and North Sweetzer Avenue, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Duron said.
North La Cienega Boulevard was also closed between Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue.
Metro buses scheduled to drive on Sunset Boulevard between North San Vicente Boulevard and North Fairfax Avenue planned to detour onto Santa Monica Boulevard, Metro L.A. tweeted.
Residents were advised to stay clear of the area because water could unexpectedly knock people off their feet.
Aerial photos indicate this is NOT a large diameter major pipe break. We'll update as we get more info from the scene.
— LADWP (@LADWP) September 26, 2014
We've not yet confirmed pipe break on Sunset at Olive is DWP's, crews are responding. We'll update here and at http://t.co/zz74eFt3PE
— LADWP (@LADWP) September 26, 2014
