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Water main break floods Hollywood's Sunset Strip, spills into Grafton Hotel

William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
A tourist tries to navigate the flooded street along Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood after a water main broke and flooded the street.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Los Angeles County firefighters use sandbags to try and mitigate flooding on Sunset Boulevard after a water main broke.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
A Department of Water and Power employee walks past a gushing water main after it ruptured on Sunset Boulevard near La Cienega Boulevard.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Los Angeles County firefighters use sandbags to try and mitigate flooding on Sunset Boulevard after a water main broke.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Tourists snap pictures of the water rushing down the street after a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Dina Nadezhdina, 29, with her dog, Dyllon, tests the temperature of the water as it rushes down Sunset Boulevard after a water main broke.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Los Angeles County Firefighters work to mitigate flooding on Sunset Boulevard after a water main break.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
Sediment piles up along Sunset Boulevard after a water main break.
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
William Lopez shovels water onto the sidewalk to help clear sediment in front of The Grafton on Sunset Boulevard where a water main broke and flooded the street.
A West Hollywood water main break that closed Sunset Boulevard on Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, as seen in a screenshot from KPCC media partner NBC L.A.
NBC L.A.

Benjamin Brayfield | KPCC with AP |

Update 5:48 p.m. Water main break sends water toward Grafton Hotel

The water is beginning to dissipate according to media reports, but one business that was affected by the West Hollywood water main that broke open on Sunset Boulevard was the Grafton Hotel. The break was right in front of the hotel.

"We started getting the entire flow of water straight toward our property because of the slope of the street," Grafton Hotel general manager Burt Seneca told KPCC. "Fortunately, my entire team went into action, and we keep  sandbags here on property, so we were able to get some sandbags right in front."

The entire front of the hotel had to be sandbagged, Seneca said, and they received aid from a construction site next door, meaning only a little water made its way into the hotel's lobby. The Fire Department also helped out once they were on the scene.

"The Fire Department was amazing," Seneca said. "They came into gear and started doing sandbags immediately, and more concerned about our property first than anything else."

After the break, traffic was initially still moving through the water, but after about 20 minutes the water built up and, combined with sediment, shut down Sunset Boulevard, Seneca said.

Those at the hotel have to wait and see what's next, Seneca said.

"Our steakhouse has a reservation book full tonight, so it depends if our guests can get to it," Seneca said.

There also remains lots of cleaning to do in front of the hotel, Seneca said.

— Benjamin Brayfield with KPCC staff

3:28 p.m. A water main break has flooded a section of West Hollywood's Sunset Strip with thousands of gallons of muddy water, closing a section of the busy boulevard.

The break occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Aerial footage from local news showed the muddy brown water rushing onto the street near the House of Blues nightclub.

Water also spilled onto nearby Santa Monica Boulevard, although that street was not immediately closed.

Aging infrastructure has resulted in a series of water main breaks in and around Los Angeles in recent years.

A nearly century-old water main ruptured near the UCLA campus last month, flooding the area with 20 million gallons of water.

Hundreds of cars and part of the campus were damaged by that break.

— AP

This story has been updated.