Huge Oil Spill In Los Angeles As Pipe Bursts

Huge Oil Spill In Los Angeles As Pipe Bursts
Oil is knee-high in some spots after a huge spill flooded a half-mile area of an industrial zone in Los Angeles.

A ruptured oil pipe in Los Angeles has spilled about 10,000 gallons of crude oil onto streets.

An area of around half-a-mile was covered and the oil at one point was knee-high in some spots.

The spill shut down an area of Atwater Village, in the north of the city, reports said.

A strip club was evacuated, but a number of patrons of the club were unable to leave when the rupture happened and cars were stuck in the car park.

Black stains marked the rear half of the building.

Four people at a medical business were evaluated with respiratory complaints, and two people were transferred to a hospital.

Sky News US Correspondent Greg Milam said: "By early morning, fire and clean-up crews had cleared away most of the oil from around the area where the pipe ruptured.

"Across the industrial suburb north-east of downtown Los Angeles, there was a strong stench of oil."

Crews put down absorbent material to sop up the remaining crude and then used high-pressure hoses to wash the streets with a soap solution.

According to the Fire Department, the leak from a 20-inch pipe was reported at around 12.15am local time. The oil line was remotely shut off.

Officials previously said 50,000 gallons had spilled but that number was revised downward after the vacuuming began.

After the pipe burst, oil could be seen shooting into the sky. Video from the scene shows oil running down the street.

Captain James Moore of the LA Fire Department told Sky News that crews had prevented any oil from reaching the nearby LA river.

He said he expected the clean-up would take a number of days.

"We have worked very quickly to get this under control and minimise the impact," he said.

http://news.sky.com/story/1262124/huge-oil-spill-in-los-angeles-as-pipe-bursts

I bet that was a real mess.