A water main break damaged a street and possibly some homes early Friday in the San Fernando Valley after the soaring geyser awakened residents who thought a surprise overnight storm had arrived in Southern California.
Utility crews shut off service to 60 customers on Halkirk Street -- south of Ventura Boulevard and east of Coldwater Canyon Avenue -- after the 8-inch pipe break at about 2 a.m. sent a tower of water above vehicles parked on the street. The water pounded down on nearby homes, vehicles and yards on Goodland Avenue in Studio City.
"It sounded like a torrential rainstorm and we thought it was hail," said resident Donna Carsten, who went outside at about 2:15 a.m. to investigate. "But it was too powerful, just too strong, so we went outside."
As water rained down on her rooftop, Carsten looked out of her house to see a 40-foot geyser spraying from the street. Some of the water leaked through the front windows of her home, but Carsten said a tree in her front law probably protected the house from significant damage.
"I was grateful when we walked outside and saw that it was just a water main break because my initial thought was that it was the end of the world," Carsten said.
Video showed a resident scramble to move a vehicle that was parked next to the break.
Resident Sam Shanman retired from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in 1986. He found out something was wrong when he tried to flush his toilet and there was no water
About 56,000 gallons of water escaped from the pipe, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Service was restored at about mid-day.
The location is east of a major water main break that shut down Coldwater Canyon Avenue south of Ventura Boulevard in 2009.
