10,000-gallon crude-oil spill in Atwater Village early Thursday was expected to take 24 hours to fully clean up, officials said.

Firefighters responding to the spill shortly after 1 a.m. in the 5100 block of West San Fernando Road were able to hem in much of the oil by using loads of sand from a nearby cement company to build a dam-like berm, creating a sort of “lagoon” that tanker trucks were able to sip from using their vacuum lines.

Crude oil spill

A map shows the approximate location of a pipeline rupture that spewed 10,000 gallons of crude oil in Atwater Village. (Bing Maps)

Those trucks were able to provide more accurate readings, which firefighters used to downgrade the size of the spill after initially estimating its size at 50,000 gallons.

The burst pipe had sent a geyser 20 to 50 feet in the air, blasting the adjacent Gentlemen’s Club, which had to evacuate, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jamie Moore said. Some 10 vehicles were also stuck in the club’s lot due to the oil, he added.

Two people at a nearby medical center who complained of nausea, possibly due to the oil, were transported to a local hospital, Moore said.
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