LAKE ARROWHEAD >> Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water rushed into a neighborhood, causing damage to one home and nearly flooding two others, after a water main broke in this mountain community early Friday, according to San Bernardino County fire officials.
Crews were called to the area of Highway 173 and John Muir Drive around 12:30 a.m. for the large break, which county fire officials say released more than 5,000 gallons of water into the neighborhood every minute, CHP incident records show.
“Thankfully, most of the water ran back right into Orchard Bay,” said Battalion Chief Marc Peebles adding that Orchard Bay is part of the larger lake.
Three homes had to be sandbagged to prevent the water from rushing inside and flooding them, however, one did sustain moderate flooding, Peebles said. No one was home at the time.
Crews still working a tractor rollover from Thursday on Highway 173 responded to the main break and helped with sandbagging and protecting homes, he said.
Crews were able to get the water shut off around 4 a.m. The heavy flow of water pushed large rocks into the roadways and even began to wash away a portion of a road, which hindered Lake Arrowhead Community Services District crews from finding the valves, officials said.
“The LACSD crews worked through the early morning hours to shut off and repair the line and to restore water services to the residents of Lake Arrowhead,” Peebles said. “They did a great job.”
It was unclear what caused the main to break.