Hydrant hit by car spews thousands of gallons of water

Bryce Alderton

Thousands of gallons water gushed from a fire hydrant after it was hit

by a motorist in Huntington Beach on Monday.

About 75,000 gallons of water per minute, for 15 minutes, spewed into

the street at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Slater Avenue, said

Dennis MacLain, the city’s water operations manager.

Huntington Beach resident Robert Stellrecht, 71, hit the hydrant in

his 2000 Chevrolet pickup to avoid a traffic accident, said Lt. Chuck

Thomas with the Huntington Beach Police Department.

The two cars didn’t collide, and no one was injured although there was

minor damage to the front-right side of the truck, Thomas said. There was

no evidence of drugs or alcohol, and Stellrecht stayed at the scene

following the accident, police said.

The Huntington Beach Fire Department turned the water off and city

crews then reinstalled the hydrant, MacLain said.

“We probably get three or four cases like this a year,” MacLain said.

“No one reported any flooding. All the water that came out of the hydrant

probably flowed into a storm drain, and it was all potable water.”