Posted August 27, 2015
Water from a sheared fire hydrant came in contact with high-voltage power lines Thursday morning resulting in a fiery Hollywood explosion that sent firefighters running.
A transformer exploded as firefighters worked to shut off a sheared hydrant in Hollywood on Aug. 27, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)
The incident began when the fire hydrant was sheared just before 7 a.m. in the 6700 block of West Santa Monica Boulevard (map), Erik Scott with the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Aerial video from Sky5 showed a white car still sitting near the sheared hydrant as water was shooting roughly 50 to 60 feet into the sky, drenching a nearby power pole.
Chanell Blanson said she was driving that car when she lost control and hit the fire hydrant.
“I was going home. I was about to make a left on Highland when my brakes went out. I just got the brake pads fixed. It was either, go into the oncoming traffic, which may have killed me, or turn into the fire hydrant,” Blanson said.
At one point, while firefighters were working to shut off the hydrant, a column of fire and smoke exploded from two power conductors sitting atop a nearby pole, sending the firefighters and others running from the area.
“It just exploded, the pole exploded. So we just ran, ran, ran,” Blanson said.
Sky5 captured at least two other explosions as crews worked to shut off the water and power.
No injuries were initially reported in the incident.
Firefighters, along with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews, managed to cut the power to the overhead electrical lines and shut off water to the area by about 8:30 a.m., Scott said.
Police and Department of Transportation officials were handling traffic control in the area, Scott said.