Porta Potties Knock Out Hydrant Across from Belmont High

Update: LADWP workers were back on the scene Wednesday. They were reinstalling a fire hydrant knocked out Tuesday. According to Stephanie Spicer of the DWP, there will be no impact on service, though workers will be digging up a small section of Loma near the hydrant.

Earlier: A driver delivering three porta potties to the Belmont High School campus near Echo Park backed into a fire hydrant, searing it off and creating a gusher just after one o'clock in the afternoon Tuesday.

Firefighters from Los Angeles Fire Department Station 3 arrived on the scene and were unable to turn it off as water flooded down Loma Street and onto Beverly Boulevard.

According to one firefighter on the scene, the handle had been stripped so the usual tool wasn't working.

Two LADWP trucks arrived soon after. According to one worker, it will be necessary to to rip open the street to stop the flow.

We'll be keeping an eye on their progress, so check back at the site.

Meantime, a crowd of neighbors were standing by, taking snapshots, as was the gentlemen driving the flatbed truck with the porta potties.