TUKWILA, Wash. -- Utility crews were scrambling Thursday morning to repair a broken water main that flooded a hotel parking lot in Tukwila.
The 62-inch pipe started gushing water around 3:20 a.m. in the 16200 block of West Valley Highway. Thousands of gallons of water leaked per minute, submerging the tires of about 100 cars parked in the lot with water.
Tukwila and City of Seattle water crews worked to turn off the flow. By 7:15 a.m. crews managed to shut off the water, but were still repairing the damage and dealing with the massive amount of water on the ground. No businesses or residents lost water during the break, but some car owners were not happy about the inconvenience.
I'm going to the airport. Now my socks are soaking, I got water in my shoes. I have got to go over here and change my socks. I just don't appreciate something like that, said John King, hotel guest.
Martin Grisham from Tukwila Emergency Management said the break appeared to be spontaneous and not caused by any sort of digging. What exactly caused the break is still unknown.
The water was flowing away from West Valley Highway, and traffic on the highway was not affected. However, Longacres Way in Tukwila was closed and detours were in place.
KING 5's Natalie Swaby contributed to this report.