About 10,000 gallons of crude oil spilled onto the streets and buildings of Los Angeles after a high-pressure oil pipe burst open early Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
A geyser of crude spewed 20 feet high over approximately half a mile at about 12:15 a.m. and was knee-high in some parts of the industrial area of Atwater Village before the oil line was remotely shut off, said Fire Capt. Jaime Moore.
An area of about half a mile was being mopped out by firefighters and hazardous material crews, the LAFD added in a statement.
"By dawn, an environmental cleaning company had vacuumed up most of the oil," the AP reported. "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."
A handful of commercial businesses near the border of Glendale were affected, as well as a strip club that was evacuated. Several roads were closed down, BBC News reported.
Four people were evacuated from a medical business after they reported breathing problems, and two other people were transferred to a hospital, Moore said.
Although officials had initially estimated the spill to be about 50,000 gallons, it was later revised downward after the vacuuming began.
Although there was no "visible evidence" that the oil entered storm drains, which empty into the Los Angeles River, it was possible that the oil might have seeped under manhole covers, Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said.
The 20-inch pipe burst at a transfer pumping station along a pipeline that runs from Bakersfield to Texas, Moore said.
Footage shown by local media showed oil shooting upwards out of the pipe and flowing down the street, BBC News reported.
Crude oil is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbons and can be used to produce different fuels.
