By Steve Almasy
CNN
(CNN) — A portion of world-famous Sunset Boulevard was closed Tuesday afternoon after a nearby water main broke, spilling an estimated 8 to 10 million gallons of water into the streets near and on the UCLA campus.
Los Angeles swiftwater rescue units have conducted five rescues, fire department spokesman Jamie Moore said.
Ankle-deep water flowed across sections of the UCLA campus.
A photo showed several inches of water covering the court of UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, which was renovated two years ago. The arena is home to the Bruins’ basketball, volleyball and women’s gymnastics teams.
The school said on its website water had gotten inside the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and three buildings associated with the athletics programs or student recreation.
But most of the water damage was to parking garages and athletic fields, said UCLA spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein. Summer school classes had not been affected.
Crews from the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power were trying to shut off the water flow. The agency tweeted that typically 75,000 gallons of water flowed through that 30-inch line every minute.
Drought-stricken California recently passed statewide water restrictions.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in January. State officials say last year was one of California’s driest ever.
CNN’s Tony Marco, Sonya Hamasaski, Dave Alsup and Lorenza Brascia contributed to this story.
The-CNN-Wire
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