6 Hurt as Water Tank Bursts

Five million gallons of water burst through an aging storage tank and slammed into a Westminster neighborhood early Monday, tossing cars and flattening garages in a disaster that former city officials said could have been avoided.

Six people were injured and at least 30 left temporarily homeless after the tidal wave gushed from a 22-foot-high hole in the above-ground reservoir and rushed through a nearby fire station and the Hefley Square Town Homes.

“I thought we were going to die,” said Capt. Bob James, one of four Orange County Fire Authority officials who was inside the Hefley Street station when the 5:47 a.m. flood occurred. “It just started blasting through here, and I didn’t think it would ever stop. It was ruthless. You can’t believe the power.”

The cause of the break in the wall of the 30-year-old tank had not been determined officially by Monday evening. Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Scott Brown called it “a catastrophic failure of the water tower.”

While authorities searched for a cause, finger-pointing began as questions arose about whether Westminster had done enough to repair aging water tanks that city officials knew in 1991 needed repairs.

Former City Manager Bill Smith had warned city officials about the system after a 1992 engineering report found that the city’s two 5-million-gallon tanks had developed cracks and were leaking. The city could not provide the report Monday.

Before Smith left last year to join the Ventura County Sanitation Districts, city officials considered several proposals to address the water issue, including privatizing the district and raising rates to cover more than $20 million in upgrading.

“They chose option three, which was to do nothing and keep their fingers crossed,” Smith said. “Obviously, it didn’t work.”

Monday evening, three city officials denied that they had ignored the memos.

The city has spent $10.2 million on improvements since 1991, but none went for earthquake retrofitting of the tanks, said Brian Mayhew, the city’s finance director.

City officials, who inspect the precast concrete tanks weekly, said that after Monday’s accident they lowered the level of the other above-ground tank near City Hall by 1 million gallons.

The rupture of the dome-shaped water tank sent a 6-foot-high current sweeping through the back door of Fire Station 65 and into a neighboring townhouse complex, where many residents woke to what they believed was the soothing sound of rain.

Within minutes, water was pouring into their living rooms and kitchens, sending pets paddling and picture frames floating. Blayne Parenteau, 65, was carried through the broken glass of his front window--along with the couch he had been sleeping on--but was not seriously hurt.

“The water came through and I started rising,” said Parenteau, who ran back into the house and found his wife, Ida, trapped on the fireplace mantel.

Greg Williams, 24, who lives with his parents, said he heard water rushing and looked outside.

“My cat was swimming,” he said. “Our garage is gone and our neighbor’s car is in our patio and kitchen. It was literally Class III rapids in our backyard.”

Water Pummeled Area for 5 Minutes

As the water continued to rise and pummel surrounding buildings for as long as five minutes, residents said they worried their walls--shaking and creaking under the pressure--wouldn’t hold.

They waded through their two-story homes in the dark, without electricity or telephones, hearing only glass breaking and relatives calling for help. Trees, branches and sticks of plywood drifted in their family rooms. Slabs of concrete swirled by their front doors. Sirens blared outside.

“I thought the world was coming to an end,” said Salome Vamdermade, 44, who woke up to find her son trapped in the living room downstairs.

Alfred Vamdermade, 22, was sleeping on the couch when the water burst inside and started to drag him around the room. His mother said she looked down the hall and saw him clawing at the walls, struggling to pull himself to the stairs.

“He was being carried toward the front window,” Vamdermade said. “It was terrifying.”

He managed to escape and, along with his parents, joined nearly 70 residents who were evacuated to nearby First Christian Church of Westminster, where they huddled in quiet groups and tried not to think of everything they had lost.

John and Troy Van der Hulst, who carried their 10-month-old daughter over their heads to escape the flood, said they were grateful just to be safe. The couple returned briefly to their waterlogged home Monday and rescued the family cat, a Himalayan named Aladdin.

“It’s unbelievable,” John Van der Hulst said of the destruction. “It’s like a war zone. There was a refrigerator in our frontyard.”

Added his wife: “Praise God that everyone is safe. Material items you can always replace.”

Injured people included Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Craig Campbell, who suffered a fractured forearm and a nearly severed index finger while trying to brace himself against the roaring water. He was listed in stable condition after surgery at UCI Medical Center in Orange, a spokeswoman said.

The destruction overwhelmed even the most veteran firefighters, who poked through the rubble and used a team of Labradors to search for trapped residents. They paused occasionally to take in the sight around them--cars and trucks slapped on top of one another, toppled street lamps and trees, a silver Buick perched on the roof of a garage. Ceiling fans and bookcases littered the streets.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” fire authority spokesman Dennis Shell said. “Not in my entire career.”

Search and rescue crews reported no fatalities by late Monday, a blessing that officials attributed largely to the timing of the flood.

“It happened so early in the morning, and a lot of people were still in their homes, sheltered inside,” the fire authority’s Brown said. “If this had been in the daytime and people were outside, there would have been fatalities. It’s a miracle.”

But the timing was especially bad for a nearby synagogue, where some 500 people were expected at each of two morning services for Rosh Hashana, one of the most important Jewish holidays.

Temple Beth David, on Hefley Street less than 200 yards from the tank, had to shut down and relocate its services to Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley. The synagogue itself managed to escape water damage, other than mud and debris in the parking lot, Rabbi Michael Mayersohn said.

“It could happen 363 days of the year and it would not be a major problem,” said Mayersohn, who expects to hold today’s services again in Fountain Valley. “It’s very ironic timing.”

City Council members met early to declare a state of emergency for that area of Westminster and immediately toured the scene, arriving just as residents were being shuttled back to their homes to retrieve some of their belongings.

About 35 residents of the most heavily damaged units were sent to Westminster High School overnight, unable to return to their homes. Officials were still trying to estimate damages late Monday, but said 22 of the 59 units sustained major damage.

“Our hearts, our prayers and our thoughts are with those families and firemen that have been impacted by this today,” Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer said. “Our community can rest assured that what can be done is being done.”

Water service throughout the city should not be interrupted, officials said. The Department of Health Services is juggling the system to pull additional water from the Metropolitan Water District.

Meanwhile, many residents who had remained composed throughout the day began breaking down as they returned to their homes and saw the destruction.

Salome Vamdermade, who went back to find her son’s high school football uniform, burst into tears at the sight of her home.

“If I had known how bad it was, I wouldn’t have come back,” she said. “We rushed out this morning and didn’t really see everything. It was all so fast.”

Contributing to this report were Times staff writers Janet Wilson and Jean O. Pasco and Times correspondent Harrison Sheppard.

* TANK WARNINGS: City officials had varying interpretations of reports on reservoirs’ condition. B2

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

O.C. Tanks

As of January 1996, Orange County had 256 water tanks. There had not been a failure in more than 25 years.

*--*

Potable Millions City Tanks of Gallons Anaheim 11 24.8 Brea 5 13.5 Buena Park 1 20.0 Capistrano Beach 1 3.0 Capistrano Valley 13 17.0 East Orange 2 2.3 El Toro 5 12.0 Fountain Valley 2 10.0 Fullerton 10 85.0 Garden Grove 7 45.0 Huntington Beach 3 40.5 Irvine Ranch 12 62.5 La Palma 2 4.5 Laguna Beach 23 28.7 La Habra n/a 14.3 Los Alisos 13 61.9 Mesa Consolidated 2 28.0 Moulton Niguel 29 65.0 Newport Beach 1 1.0 Orange 16 41.0 Orange Park Acres 1 1.0 San Clemente 14 18.0 Santa Ana 8 39.3 Santa Ana Heights 2 n/a Santa Margarita 22 64.0 Santiago 7 2.0 Seal Beach 2 7.0 Serrano 2 9.0 South Coast 13 21.0 Trabuco Canyon 9 10.0 Tustin 6 11.1 Westminster* 2 10.0 Yorba Linda 10 38.3 Total 256 810.7

*--*

* Before Monday’s mishap

Source: Municipal Water District of Orange County

Wall of Water Wallops Neighborhood

A predawn rupture of a 5-million-gallon water tank Monday let loose a torrent that ravaged a Westminster condominium complex, leaving a trail of crushed cars, sheared-off rooftops and shaken residents in its wake. A closer look at the damage:

Tank bursts, drains in 3 minutes

Deluge traps three firefighters in dorm

Water sweeps fire captain out of station

Note: Small buildings are garages

Sources: Orange County Fire Authority; City of Westminster

Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD / Los Angeles Times