{"id":5292,"date":"2026-07-17T08:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/17\/sinkhole-on-sunset-boulevard-broken-water-pipe-floods-la-area-hotspot\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T08:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:10:09","slug":"sinkhole-on-sunset-boulevard-broken-water-pipe-floods-la-area-hotspot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5292","title":{"rendered":"Sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard: broken water pipe floods LA-area hotspot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"3ac0fec8-cfd7-42e7-906a-73aaa22259c1\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aerial view of sinkhole, with tiny people in neon yellow vests, below billboard for Enola Holmes 3.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3075bb5ce55f421cd9b1495aa75d6ed13db7424b\/480_0_6941_5556\/master\/6941.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.2143783316525\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Utility repair workers near a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, on 16 July.<\/span> Photograph: Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"3ac0fec8-cfd7-42e7-906a-73aaa22259c1\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Utility repair workers near a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, on 16 July.<\/span> Photograph: Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard: broken water pipe floods LA-area hotspot<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Businesses and traffic in West Hollywood doused after century-old pipe bursts belowground<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A century-old water pipe buried below a bustling boulevard in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/los-angeles\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Los Angeles<\/a> county city burst early Thursday, sending a shock of water spewing into the streets and snarling traffic as several major roads shut down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The 36in riveted steel pipe\u2019s rupture <a href=\"https:\/\/ladwpnews.com\/ladwp-continues-response-efforts-following-west-hollywood-water-main-incident-11-am-july-16-2026\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">left<\/a> a protruding sinkhole and cracked pavement in West Hollywood. Images of the aftermath <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/accuweather\/status\/2077901015731597559\/video\/1\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">showed<\/a> local metro buses partially submerged in murky brown water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">No injuries had been reported, according to John Heilman, the city\u2019s mayor. \u201cAll of our residents to our knowledge are safe,\u201d he said during a Thursday press conference, adding that there was no immediate need for evacuations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe know these road closures and traffic impacts are disruptive, and we appreciate everyone\u2019s patience as crews work to stabilize the area, assess the damage, and begin repairs,\u201d Heilman also said in a statement.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"26a7d382-ba93-49ba-af37-7b90c9d41c6a\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aerial view of sinkhole, with two tiny men in neon yellow vests.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8e88d225d99f220966e963648b7b1ddffa570edd\/218_0_6675_5340\/master\/6675.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"26a7d382-ba93-49ba-af37-7b90c9d41c6a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">The sinkhole in West Hollywood on 16 July.<\/span> Photograph: Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Neighborhood residents have clean drinking water, said David Hanson, the interim general manager for the Los Angeles department of water and power (LADWP).<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Officials do not yet know what caused the pipe to rupture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Anselmo Collins, chief operating officer for LADWP, said at the press conference that the agency annually installs and replaces about 45 miles (72km) of pipes. \u201cUnfortunately, sometimes there may be parts of the pipeline where you end up with a weak spot and it reveals itself when you have these types of leaks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"ab60c1a5-905a-4c95-81fe-70b0a2318c51\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aerial view of rows of buses surrounded by brown water.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e31599befa295eebd14f872c34e7176833a557fc\/0_0_5413_4333\/master\/5413.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356.2137446887123\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"ab60c1a5-905a-4c95-81fe-70b0a2318c51\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">A flooded bus depot in West Hollywood.<\/span> Photograph: Daniel Cole\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Water pressure typically surges at night when fewer people are using it, he continued. \u201cEverybody\u2019s asleep. So consequently normally that\u2019s when you see a water main break take place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Collins did not provide a timeline for repairs, saying that officials are working to shut smaller valves and assess the situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The flooding affected the Sunset Strip, a buzzy cluster of restaurants, bars and retail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Dialog Cafe, a popular brunch spot, was temporarily closed after sustaining \u201csignificant damage\u201d due to the water break, the restaurant wrote in a Thursday social media post, saying: \u201cWe don\u2019t yet know exactly when we\u2019ll be able to reopen.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"c254b26e-bff9-43da-8e4c-5ccebf1d8b1d\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-4\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Brown water on the floor of a commercial kitchen.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2536a7691827409b080ee28943f48a23b0c2ef73\/522_0_4910_3928\/master\/4910.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-4\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"c254b26e-bff9-43da-8e4c-5ccebf1d8b1d\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Damage from flood water on the floor of Dialog Cafe in West Hollywood.<\/span> Photograph: Chelsea Lauren\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">At the press conference, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, cited the pipe\u2019s break as evidence of why the city needs a \u201ccomprehensive infrastructure plan\u201d. (The pipe\u2019s origins predate the 1984 incorporation of West Hollywood as an independent city.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis is one of the challenges when our infrastructure is so old,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI spent the last couple of years developing a comprehensive infrastructure plan of which we rolled out about two months ago,\u201d she said, noting that the measure will be put before voters on the November ballot. \u201cIt is very difficult to repair the infrastructure that impacts the entire city and clearly two cities \u2013 West Hollywood and Los Angeles \u2013 without a citywide plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/los-angeles\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Los Angeles<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/sinkholes\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Sinkholes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/california\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/west-coast\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">West Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Sinkhole%20on%20Sunset%20Boulevard:%20broken%20water%20pipe%20floods%20LA-area%20hotspot&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/16\/los-angeles-sinkhole-flooding?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F16%2Flos-angeles-sinkhole-flooding&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/16\/los-angeles-sinkhole-flooding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Utility repair workers near a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, on 16 July. Photograph: Mario<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}