Crews work to free firetruck from Valley Village sinkhole

Officials were trying to figure out this morning how to shut off water that was continuing to flow from a sinkhole in the San Fernando Valley that swallowed a fire engine.

This water main break occurred this morning on Bellingham Avenue at Hartsook Street near Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Valley Village. The truck – with one captain and three firefighters on board – was responding to a call about flooding in the 1200 block of West Hartsook when it ended up in the sinkhole, said department spokesman Devin Gales.

All four of the truck's crew safely escaped from the firetruck. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says a broken water main underneath the asphalt caused the sinkhole.

The street is closed and about 40 DWP customers in the area are without water. DWP crews were on scene and in the process of shutting off the water main. Meanwhile, a heavy rescue unit from the Fire Department arrived to pull the firetruck out of the sinkhole, Gales said.

A previous sinkhole developed Saturday night a few miles away on Coldwater Canyon Avenue, which is closed from Ventura Boulevard north to Moorpark Street. Commuters to the Westside are advised to avoid the area and, if forced to detour, stick to Beverly Glen Boulevard to the west and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the east rather than wind their way through unfamiliar mountain streets.

DWP crews welded the 62-inch water main that flooded residences in Studio City and washed away cars in a powerful torrent that lasted hours. Water as deep as 3 feet pooled in some places and ripped a huge gash in the roadway. Road repair crews were expected to begin rebuilding the most severely damaged portion of Coldwater Canyon, just south of Ventura Boulevard, late Monday or today.

It was not clear how long it would take to fix the roadway, which collapsed in large chunks in places.

Traffic officers will be stationed today at four intersections to guide motorists around the closures from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m., officials said.

-- Raja Abdulrahim

Use the Times' interactive Google map to see the location of the water main breaks and street closures in the area.

Photo: A Los Angeles city Fire Department truck is swallowed by a sinkhole in Valley Village. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[jt]

this is too funny! a 2nd one in 3 days?!?! someone needs to ask some hard questions as to what la dwp is doing about aging infrastructure. see i work for a for-profit utility and we get stuff up the crapper from the Public Utilities Commission all the time. But it seems like these public munis get a free pass...until some very influential residents who are affected start whispering in Villaretardo's ear at a private fundraiser about their littler water problem. and they're telling us to conserve water?! how much water has been wasted with these last two failures?

[boo boo]

Two sinkholes in less than a week.
Sounds strange to me.

And to think the DWP wants to give a 25% raise to the people in charge here?

If we the taxpayers are FORCED to pay these workers 25% more where wiull the money come from to fix future sinkholes?

[Cynthia]

This is actually the 4th water main break in the Valley in the past few days. There was one on Mooncrest Drive in Encino on Sat night which left the neighborhood without water until last night. And I believe there was one in Van Nuys around Vanowen and Woodley...

[Jack Henry]

Look on Whitsett for the answer. This must have something to do with all the digging and pipe installation going on there for the past year.

[steven44122]

Having live in Cleveland where water main breaks are a regular occurance... I see we are not alone with this....

[J in Pasadena]

Is there some kind of new additive in the water that is eating away the old pipes?

[ANTHONY]

THATS CRAZY THATS WHY I WOULD NOT LIVE N CAL

[Angel Tu]

Valley Village is not in the San Fernando Valley. It is Los Angeles County.

[herzco]

boo boo, that statement doesn't sound too bright - these sinkholes and other infrastructure problems are happening because of people who don't pay or underpay their taxes! the money to keep this stuff current has to come from SOMEWHERE.

[Warren]

I'm wondering if any of the homeowners who were flooded had Flood Insurance. I doubt that the stardard homeowner policy will cover this flood loss.

[lake balboa resident]

there were actually 3 busted water lines this weekend. we had a boken water main on woodley avenue in van nuys, between sherman way and vanowen yesterday. the water was gushing down the side of the street and the whole block had no water for about 12 hours. I give the LADWP credit for staying and getting it fixed though!

[Keith]

Stop blaming people, becuz you dont have water for a few days. Things happen...thats life. The same people you are putting down (DWP Workers) are the same people you need to fix this problem and get your water back to you! Be thankful no one was hurt and no life was loss. Chill out!

[Shane Davis]

Angel you better check on a map my friend, Valley Village is indeed in the valley

[Bannion]

Angel Tu: Valley Village is most definitely in the SF Valley. Check a map.

Also, this was the 12000 Block of Hartsook, not the 1200 block.

[Doug]

Angel Tu, how about you do some research before you post a comment. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Valley Village is and will always be a part of the greater San Fernando Valley which is IN Los Angeles County. Do you also need some education on that as well?

For your reference, click on the link below.

For your reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Village,_Los_Angeles,_California

[Stephen]

Angel, Valley Village IS in the San Fernando Valley...and the Valley is part of LA County! Double check your info...the Valley forms a large chunk of LA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fernando_Valley

[Suz]

Valley Village is in the SFV and its not just in L.A. county, its in the City of Los Angeles.