Several businesses and residents would be dealing with a muddy mess into Monday after a water line in Hollywood Hills broke Sunday, spilling water at an estimated rate of 10,000 gallons a minute, authorities said.
"I suddenly thought we were having an earthquake and I said to my husband, 'there's rumbling,'" resident Lisa Daly said.
The subterranean water main break occurred around noon on Oak Glen Drive near Cahuenga Pass, according to Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles Department of Water and power supervisor said the flow was coming from an 8-inch water main.
Humphrey added that six businesses in the 3300 block of Cahuenga Boulevard had sustained the most visible damage.
At 1:55 p.m., the LADWP was able to contain about 80 percent of the flow.
Residents Mona Gauthier and Lucille Tombardi had to evacuate after they came home to find the pipe had burst.
"That's what we first thought, that our neighbors were emptying their pool," Gauthier said.
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Josh Debney suffered damage to his house as mud and debris rolled down the hillside into his house.
A LAFD dump truck provided sand and sandbags to address immediate needs in the affected areas.
Southbound lanes of Cahuenga Boulevard were to remain closed until they could be cleaned.
Crews were working to restore water to the 30 people who were affected by 9 p.m.
