UPDATE: Water Main Break Blocks Traffic on Marin Avenue

A soggy Christmas in a Mill Valley neighborhood was averted when firefighters and water district officials prevented a water main break from flooding homes Monday, Southern Marin fire officials said.

Marin Avenue remained shut down midday between Bell Lane and Flamingo Road on the northern edge of Tennessee Valley following the fracture of a 12-inch water main break, a fire official said. A Marin Municipal Water District official said it was unknown how many customers were without service or what time a repair would be completed.

Matt Barnes, a battalion chief with the Southern Marin Fire Department, said it took about 45 minutes to shut off the flow of water following the 10:09 a.m. emergency call from a Marin Avenue resident. The flow was about 1,000 gallons per minute from the break outside of 235 Marin Ave., he said.

The water lifted the asphalt on the street, prompting concerns about a possible sinkhole created from undermining. Firefighters blocked off traffic on Marin Avenue and got help from residents in moving four vehicles from the street.

There was about six inches of standing water at the deepest point, he said.

After a MMWD crew shut off flow, between 50 and 75 sandbags were filled and stacked to prevent flooding at one home. Ambulances were used to ferry the sandbags to locations where they were needed. 

MMWD, Southern Marin Fire, Mill Valley Fire and Marin County Fire were on the call, Barnes said.

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report. Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.