Water Main Break Shuts Down Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood

A water main break flooded part of Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood Friday.

Crews were dispatched to the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Olive Drive, near La Cienega Blvd., according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The County of Los Angeles Fire Department tweeted that people should avoid the area. Officials said the pipe was releasing 9,600 gallons of water per minute.

See more Flood Waters Hit UCLA

The break occurred at approximately 2:18 p.m. on a 36-in. pipe that was installed back in 1916, according to the LADWP. The department said shutting down the pipe was a complex process involving approximately 15 valves. The water was successfully shut off at approximately 6 p.m., with the cleanup beginning.

Parts of Sunset remained closed into the evening.

*Water Main Break* Road Closures Sunset Blvd from Crescent Heights to La Cienega, and Sunset down to Santa Monica

— LACounty Fire PIO (@LACoFDPIO) September 26, 2014

Bystanders and media organizations quickly began sharing photos on Twitter.

Watch Live: Sky5 over water main break in WeHo; Sunset closed between La Cienega&Sweetzer http://t.co/7ZMruIkHoF pic.twitter.com/Nx4SKYrECs

— KTLA (@KTLA) September 26, 2014

LADWP crews en route to WeHo water-main break. Water rushing from Sunset down to Santa Monica Blvd pic.twitter.com/VA1r6ycrGN

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) September 26, 2014

Folks coming out to see all the water gushing down Sunset Blvd. #watermainbreak #weho pic.twitter.com/qYHDwi9vup

— Tara Wallis (@tarawallis) September 26, 2014

Breaking: Major Water Main Break – 8400 Sunset Blvd – Sunset Blvd closed at Olive Street, water flowing to Melrose pic.twitter.com/oeXwwMUxmL

— Melrose Action (@melroseaction) September 26, 2014

In July, a major pipe burst, flooding UCLA’s campus by unleashing roughly 20 million gallons of water.

Sept. 26, 5:05 p.m. Updated with additional information about the pipe.

Sept. 26, 5:45 p.m. Updated with additional information on the shut-down process.

Sept. 26, 6:53 p.m. Updated to reflect that cleanup had begun.