Water main bursts in south Minneapolis, causing a big mess

City of Minneapolis crews remained on the scene of a water main break that occurred early Thursday in the area of 50th Street and Penn Avenue S. and forced some residents from an apartment building to be evacuated.

Minneapolis Fire Department crews arrived at the south Minneapolis intersection after getting reports of a fire alarm sounding in the building that is home to Terzo Restaurant, the Sparrow Cafe and a bookstore. The apartments are on the second level.

Firefighters didn’t find anything burning when they got there about 3:30 a.m., but they saw “a large amount of water flooding out of the restaurant,” Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker said.

Water gushed down streets and alleys for hours until about 7:45 a.m., according to a city spokesman.

With approximately a foot or more of water in the surrounding area, officials asked residents living on nearby Oliver Avenue to move their cars so they would not freeze to the street, Rucker said.

At 6:30 a.m., the temperature in the area was 7 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

All the water made for a tough day at Lake Harriet Florist, just down the street from the leak. The basement of the store was flooded, and garbage cans behind the building were encased.

“They will be frozen in place until April,” owner Leslie Ruud joked.

But this is the busiest day of the year with Valentine’s Day on Friday, Ruud said. Some preorders are available for pickup Thursday, but workers can’t get to those in the basement, she said Thursday morning.

“We’re going to have to have it pumped out,” Ruud said. “It’s exciting.”

Metro Transit routes 4 and 46, which run on 50th Street, have been detoured between Oliver and Penn until later today, the agency said.