A pipeline rupture in East Los Angeles early Friday morning resulted in a crude oil spill, according to officials.
Firefighters responded around 3:20 a.m. to a report of a hazardous material incident near East Cesar Chavez and North Eastern avenues, according to Los Angeles County Fire Captain Aaron Katon.
A crew boring a 6-inch hole 10 feet underground to lay fiber-optic cable hit a pipeline that also runs 10 feet under the street transporting crude oil from Kern County to the Port of Los Angeles, Katon said.
There was a leak of five gallons per second as crews immediately got to work trying to contain the spill, Katon said. There was a significant enough quantity of oil that it got into the storm drain. The pipeline operator shut down the pipeline within 30 minutes.
Officials are focusing on protecting the environment, as crews have teams measuring the extent of the flows and working with collaborating agencies, Katon said.
It’s too early to estimate how much crude oil was released. Crews are expected to be at the scene for hours.
California Highway Patrol issued an alert around 7:30 a.m. that the intersection is closed in all directions for six hours.
