On Saturday, April 6, a fire hydrant near the apex of Hill Street was knocked from its base and sent torrents of water into the air and down the steep street to Sunset Cliffs.
San Diego Police received a report about 3:30 p.m. that the yellow hydrant in the 4200 block of Hill Street. had been knocked off its base. The location is just east of Sunset View Elementary School between Moana and Alexandria drives.
One officer arrived later to find not only a geyser of water under high pressure blasting 45 feet into the air, but also a number of neighborhood boys and men, shirtless, running under the waterfall in the middle of the street as drivers continued to pass by the scene.
“I was thinking about getting on my loudspeaker and telling these people the water is all reclaimed sewage,” the officer quipped, as young children and cars moved through the falling water.
Before another officer arrived to block off a second intersection, some drivers edged gingerly across the roadway’s center line before continuing. Several drivers, however, stopped directly below the falling water for what must have been a violent, but free, car wash courtesy of the City of San Diego.
Firefighters from Engine 22 arrived but could only watch as dozens of neighbors took cell phone photos to document the unusual event.
Next on scene was a worker from the City’s Water Division, and on his second try he found the right valve under the street and was able to stem the geyser’s flow. Unfortunately for him, the valve was located just several feet from the thundering blast and he received a courtesy shower from the water.