BERIGAN Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 Mystery blob eating downtown By Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer A mysterious black blob attacked downtown Los Angeles on Monday with a tar-like goo that oozed from manholes, buckled a street and unmoored a Raymond Chandler-era brick building, firefighters said. About 200 residents were forced to flee as a hazardous materials team and dozens of firefighters worked throughout the day to identify what was first deemed "a black tarry substance" and later morphed into a "watery mud." While outside temperatures struggled to break 60, sidewalks in the vicinity steamed at 103 degrees, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. "It's worrisome in the fact that it will keep the street closed and residents will be evacuated till the building is considered safe," Myers said. Firefighters were alerted at 3 a.m. by complaints of a sewer-like smell at an apartment house at 1220 S. Olive St. near Pico Boulevard, but found nothing. They returned at 1 p.m. to find a Slimer-like ooze lurking beneath central Los Angeles. "We were called back because there was a gooey substance, a tarry-type substance, coming out the underground electrical vaults, out of manhole covers in the street, through the sidewalks and possibly in one older apartment building," Myers said. A 120-foot stretch of Olive buckled 1 1/2 feet, he said. The pre-1933 unreinforced masonry apartment building shifted one foot from its foundation. Sidewalks were as hot as Jacuzzis. And a pressurized -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- liquid shot from every street orifice located above what used to be a historic oil field downtown. No one was injured in what amounted to a black lagoon. Hazmat and Urban Search and Rescue crews determined that the mysterious substance wasn't flammable, Myers said. "Incident commanders are evaluating some form of drilling operation one or two blocks away as the possible cause," he added. "They told us to get out from the building, because, probably, I don't know, anything could happen. The basement was flooding," resident Mary Robles told KABC-TV, Channel 7. By late afternoon, the American Red Cross had set up an evacuation center for the 150 adults and 50 children forced to flee the stuff of nightmares. "We're opening a shelter," said Nick Samaniego, spokesman for the Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles. "We're looking for a place to put them." http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_3529716 Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 Did Steve McQueen show up? Quote
Shawn Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 Get it to a skating rink...FAST!!!! Quote
Noj Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 Black oil... Man, that show was cool for a little while. Amazing how stupid it got. LA's an old city, with a lot of poor planning. This isn't all that suprising. Quote
RDK Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 It's also built on oil fields and tar pits, so black goo oozing out of the ground really shouldn't be that big a deal... Quote
Alexander Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 It's also built on oil fields and tar pits, so black goo oozing out of the ground really shouldn't be that big a deal... That was my first thought... Besides, would we REALLY be any poorer (culturally speaking) if LA were to sink into the ground? Quote
7/4 Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 (edited) Besides, would we REALLY be any poorer (culturally speaking) if LA were to sink into the ground? I think so. There's a bunch of musicans I know in that area who create amazing music that has nothing to do with pop culture/comercial music. Edited February 21, 2006 by 7/4 Quote
catesta Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 The blob oozes in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A tar-like blob engulfed the basement of a 99-year-old Los Angeles apartment building, buckled the street and oozed from manholes and cracks, reports said. "The street looked like it was about to pop. Everybody sort of stepped back and said, 'Whoa,'" fire department Capt. Al Gonzales told The Los Angeles Times. "Then we put two and two together." It was then authorities remembered that St. James Oil Co. had a petroleum drilling site two blocks away and discovered workers were injecting water at high pressure and temperature to extract leftover crude from old wells. When the company stopped pumping Monday, the street bulge began to subside. However, the apartment building has been declared off limits to residents until the stability of its foundation can be inspected. The Times said about 130 people were affected while the Los Angeles Daily News put the number at about 200. Quote
Man with the Golden Arm Posted February 21, 2006 Report Posted February 21, 2006 these kids better watch out!! Quote
Adam Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 Actually, the culture of LA is pretty darn good these days. Visual arts, experimental films, galleries, music of all sorts... I wouldn't say that LA is an old city. I'd say it's a pretty new city with poor planning. Quote
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