Broken Water Main Was Shooting Water on Bancroft and California

Updated at 12:30 with East Bay Municipal's response.

There was a broken water main this morning at California Street near Bancroft, said Berkeley resident Tom Walton.

Water walked out of his house on California to get the paper this morning and saw a geyser shooting straight up into the air. He said it looked like the asphalt from where it sprang had been ruptured. 

Tow trucks were removing the cars parked on the street and he saw one car get opened with a slim jim.

The police had blocked off the road and the fire department was there as well.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District said it got a call about the broken main at around 11 a.m.

Charles Hardy of the utility said they had to shut-off the water, which means some nearby residents will be without it for a while. 

EBMUD workers needed access to the gate in order to shut off the water and any vehicles in the way needed to be moved or towed, said Hardy.

When we spoke to Hardy the EBMUD was sending a crew out to assess the damages. They should know more in an hour.

We’ll update this article as photos and more information become available.