Car Breaks Hydrant; 10 Families Forced to Flee
Ten North Hollywood families were displaced from their homes Monday after a car sheared off a fire hydrant and sent water flooding into their apartment building, authorities said.
Half of the apartments in the 24-unit building in the 11700 block of Vanowen Street were damaged when a 60-foot-high arc of water shot onto the roof and into the courtyard of the two-story building after the Sunday afternoon accident. No one was injured.
“It was like a hurricane,” said Wanda Sanchez, manager of the complex. “There was a waterfall coming down off the roof.”
Los Angeles Police Sgt. Al Zardeneta said Juan Lopez, 33, was driving west on Vanowen when he lost control of his car and struck the fire hydrant in front of the apartment building. Los Angeles firefighters shut off the hydrant line in about 15 minutes, but the water had already leaked through the roof.
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