Pipeline Rupture Sends Oil Onto Street, Property

A ruptured pipeline sent hundreds of gallons of oil spilling onto the street and adjoining land in Playa del Rey on Wednesday, but workers prevented the spill from spreading into the Ballona Wetlands, authorities said.

It was unclear whether a private construction crew working on the street was responsible for the break, which occurred about 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Lincoln and Jefferson boulevards, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

It took about an hour for firefighters, in tandem with the construction crew and Equilon Pipeline Co., to shut down the 10-inch-diameter pipeline, which was spewing oil at a rate of 10 to 20 gallons per minute.

In the meantime, workers tried to divert the spill onto Playa Vista property. “It was a matter of using shovels and backhoes to dig dirt and to create a small wall of dirt around the spill to keep it from spreading,” Humphrey said. Two truckloads of sand were also brought in to absorb the spill, he added.