Sunset Boulevard floods as burst water pipe in LA causes water to shoot 20 feet into the air

The burst pipe led to between 8 and 10 million gallons of water flooding the surrounding area, including the UCLA campus

A burst water pipe in downtown Los Angeles saw a jet of water shoot high into the air and cause flooding at the city’s university campus and the closure of the iconic Sunset Boulevard.

Witnesses say a major water main break on Tuesday afternoon near Sunset Boulevard shot water between 10 to 20 feet into the air and caused chaos for residents, students and commuters alike, during the hours that followed.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, it took four hours for their team to shut off the leak, and in that time between 8 to 10 million gallons of water had flooded the surrounding streets and buildings.

One of the streets was Sunset Boulevard, which had to be closed to ensure that traffic was not caught as a result of the burst water main that at one point saw 36,000 gallons of water flooding out of it every minute.

A one and a half mile stretch of the street, which runs through some of the city’s most exclusive districts including Hollywood, Bel Air and Beverly Hills, was closed between Veteran and Hilgard Avenues.

Another place to be badly affected was the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) that saw many of their academic and sports facilities receiving flood damage.

Students and staff members had to be evacuated by emergency service teams as the water filled, one of their libraries, the football stadium and the Pauley Pavillion basketball arena.

According to Los Angeles Fire Department reports, at least five people had to be rescued after they were caught in an underground parking structure.

To manoeuvre around the affected areas police even brought on site four inflatable boats.

Despite warnings from the police, some people brought bodysurfing and skimboarding boards to make the most of the unexpected downtown water.