Broken Water Main Floods Orange County Neighborhood
VILLA PARK (CBSLA.com) — Some homeowners were left with a mess after water from a broken pipe flooded their street on Sunday.
CBS2's Adrianna Weingold said it was a scary ordeal for the families who live on Wildwood Way in northeastern Orange County. A pipe burst in the reservoir behind these homes ruptured, there was so much water it breached the retaining wall behind one home and completely flooded inside.
"It was flooding the entire neighborhood, so I ran up the next door neighbor's driveway," said Gretchen Kaufman, a professor at San Francisco University.
Kaufman said she saw water surging into her neighbor's home and ran into the flood to help the family trapped inside.There was so much water moving so fast it was nearly 3 feet deep by the time Kaufman made it inside the home.
"They said, 'The baby the baby,' so we went and found the baby, put the baby in the van and helped them get everything out of their house," Kaufman said.
The water rushed down the driveway, flooding the inside of the home, turning the entire backyard into more of lake, so deep the swimming pool is buried somewhere underneath.
"It was really scary, the water was rising in the house, and as soon as the firemen arrived they said you have to evacuate immediately," Kaufman said.
The flood started just after 11 a.m. Sunday when a 14-inch water main in the reservoir behind the home ruptured.
"The water was at least 2 feet high up against, outside the sliding glass door, 2 feet high, so there was quite a bit of water in the backyard," said Capt. Ben Gonzales of the Orange County Fire Authority.
Officials say one home on the block has severe damage. Kaufman and fire crews were able to get everyone out of the home to safety.
Officials from the Serrano Water District said a surge in the system caused the pipe to burst. They said the water in that pipe goes from one reservoir to another so even though the water is now shut off, water service to homes hasn't been disrupted.
