Water main break floods UCLA campus, streets: 8-10 million gallons lost

LOS ANGELES (KTLA-TV) -- An approximately 93-year-old water main broke next to the UCLA campus in Westwood Tuesday, sending water flooding into streets and into the campus, stranding people and vehicles and prompting the closure of Sunset Boulevard, KTLA reported.

The main was shut down as of 8 p.m. after spewing water for more than four hours, according to James McDaniel of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

McDaniels estimated that between 8 million and 10 million gallons of water were lost during the break.



Photos showed UCLA's iconic Pauley Pavilion basketball court completely under water.

This is Pauley Pavilion, UCLA's basetball court, under water. (Photo credit to @Kyle_Able #UCLA)



People were stranded by the rising water, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, which was called to the incident shortly before 3:30 p.m.

Three people were rescued from parking structures, the department’s Brian Humphrey told KTLA. Two of the structures were flooded with rising waters, officials said.



A geyser of water was shooting several dozen feet into the air from a hole in a roadway near the Spieker Aquatic Center, video from Sky5 showed. A main had broken in the center of Sunset Boulevard, LAFD Capt. Jaime Moore said.

“It’s like I’m at Niagara Falls on Sunset,” said one area resident who spoke to KTLA.

Utility crews were shutting down multiple valves to avoid rupturing lines, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power stated on Twitter about 5:10 p.m. It would take some time to stop the flow, the DWP said.

Sunset Boulevard was closed from Marymount Place to Westwood Plaza, according to LAFD.

The address given for the flooding was 10630 W. Sunset Blvd., next to the UCLA campus (map). Water was flowing over much of the campus, aerial video showed.