Hydrant sheared off in Santa Barbara but no vehicle is seen

Thousands of gallons of water went down the drain Tuesday night when a fire hydrant was sheared off at Santa Barbara’s Shoreline Park.

Neighbors say they heard a bang but never saw a vehicle. No disabled vehicle was seen in the immediate area.

Police and Fire were notified about 7:30 p.m.

Ultimately the Public Works department was called and needed to shut the main water valve off that supplied the hydrant.

The water flowed to drains on Shoreline Drive near San Rafael Street.

Traffic was not diverted, but was slowed in the area due to the volume of shooting water estimated to be about 30 feet in the air.

This comes at a time when Santa Barbara is in the eighth year of a prolonged drought.