Calabasas mudslide leaves street impassable after water pipe bursts

CALABASAS, Calif. (KABC) -- A water pipe atop a hillside in a residential area of Calabasas ruptured early Saturday morning, resulting in a mudslide that left the street below impassible.

The incident was reported about 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Ruthwood Drive.

"Just mud flowing like a river all along Ruthwood, and cleanup crews seriously at work," said resident Catherine Cobb. "There was a lot of debris on the street."

Utility crews responded to the scene and shut off water service to about 20 homes in the immediate area as a cleanup and repair operation got underway. Water service was expected to be restored sometime Saturday evening, city officials said.

About 12 hours after the rupture, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District officials announced that they had discovered the price location on the pipe where the burst occurred.

"It's not compromised, but there's definitely some erosion going on to it," said Mike McNutt with LVMWD. "We brought in some of our contractors to come out; we're doing a huge cleanup right now. Those repairs will start as soon as we

determine where exactly the water or the break is."

Some areas reportedly saw 2-3 feet of mud along the side of the road.

With more rain on the way this weekend, neighbors say they'll be keeping a close eye on the area.

"What if more happen? More mud over the weekend? This is a great amount of dirt and mud in the street. People's cars are stuck in the mud down there," said resident Melinda Polakoff.

The cause of the incident was under investigation.