Cleanup continues after sinkhole leads to natural gas leak in Laguna Beach over weekend
A number of Laguna Beach residents were displaced from their homes for a lengthy portion of Sunday, after a large sinkhole opened up, resulting in flooding and a natural gas leak.
The incident was reported early Sunday morning, at around 7:30 a.m., when one resident reported that he heard rushing water near his home in the area of 10th Avenue and Sunset Avenue.
The sound of the water came from a water main break, which had created a large sinkhole on Sunset Ave., an event which became worse when a car fell into the hole, severing a gas line.
An entire neighborhood was evacuated due to the possible threat that the leaking gas could bring, with workers mitigating the gas leak at around 10 a.m. Residents living on Sunset Ave. and Virginia Way, between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue were evacuated for hours as they worked to resolve the issue.
While they've sine been allowed to return home, members of the Laguna Beach Public Works, South Coast Water District and the gas company have been on hand to assist with cleanup efforts and restore the gas and water to the affected area, which remained closed as of Monday afternoon.
South Coast Water District engineers don't have an exact reason for the water main which set off the series of events, but they speculate that the overly-saturated ground under the pipe, caused by the series of intense and wet winter storms, caused the soil to weaken.
"What we do know, is that the pipeline didn't burst," said March Serna, Chief Engineer with SCWD. "Typically, with large line breaks, you'll see a broken pipe. What happened with this pipe was the joins got pulled apart."
Seven homes remain without regular water, but temporary valves coming through a nearby fire hydrant are allowing them access for necessary tasks.
It remains unclear exactly when the cleanup will be completed, a process which could take weeks, according to engineers.
