A faulty valve at a petroleum pipeline pump station ruptured early on Thursday in an industrial corner of Los Angeles, spewing crude oil 40 feet (12 meters) into the air, onto the roof of a strip club next door, and leaving at least four people sick from the fumes.
An estimated 10,000 gallons of oil gushed from the pipeline before it was shut down and the spill was halted, soaking an area about a half-block long, Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jaime Moore said.
The company that runs the pipeline, Plains All American Pipeline LP, a unit of Plains Pipeline LP, put the volume of the spill at "less than 450 barrels (18,900 gallons)" based on current field inspections.