Oil leak shuts down portion of Sepulveda Blvd. in Rancho Park

Rancho Park oil leak

LADWP says it might be another three days they will be out there trying to resolve the situation and make repairs.

LOS ANGELES - An oil leak continues to shut down some lanes of Sepulveda Boulevard in Rancho Park Wednesday.

Officials with LADWP said it may take a few more days to locate the leak and conduct repairs, as well as seal up the road.

Right now about half of Sepulveda Boulevard is closed off as crews continue to work in the area.

Drivers are advised to find alternate routes as traffic is expected to remain heavy.

The exact source of the leak that caused as many as 1,000 gallons oil to seep through the ground has yet to be determined.

The seeping oil was first detected Monday night, with Los Angeles Fire Department crews responding just before 6 p.m. to the 2800 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard. Fire crews discovered oil bubbling out of the ground at a rate of about 3 to 5 gallons per minute, according to LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange.

Prange said 500 to 1,000 gallons were believed to have seeped to the surface as of Monday night, and about 20 to 40 gallons escaped into a storm drain before crews were able to contain the leaking material. Officials said they were still working to determine exact amounts of oil that leaked.

Repair work continues on oil leak in West LA

Clean-up crews worked throughout the day Tuesday to determine the exact source of a leak that caused as many as 1,000 gallons oil to seek through the ground in the Rancho Park area.

Multiple oil pipes run through the area and various agencies were working to determine which line was compromised. JoJo Comandante, a hazardous materials specialist with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said the leak may have occurred simultaneously with a leak in a Los Angeles city water line. He noted that the oil managed to leak into a storm drain "unnoticed for 2 miles downstream."

Prange said officials requested a vacuum truck from the waste management company Clean Harbors and sand from the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services to help mitigate environmental effects of the flow of the oil.

With the leak contained, there was no widespread public hazard, but crews were digging into the street to fully repair the damage.

No injuries were reported and no evacuation orders were issued.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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