Thousands of gallons of raw sewage leaked into the ocean at a popular Los Angeles area beach ahead of Labor Day weekend, the L.A. County public health department announced Friday.
A root blockage caused about 6,700 gallons of untreated sewage to enter the storm drain and flow into the ocean at Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, the department said in a release.
People should avoid the water and wet sand at Will Rogers State Beach from Sunset Boulevard within a half mile in either direction, officials said.
Closures will remain in effect until bacteria levels meet health standards in two different samples.
The spill comes a little more than a month after parts of nearby Venice Beach and Dockweiler State Beach were closed because of a spill of about 15,000 gallons of sewage near Marina del Rey.
The latest spill is likely to affect the Labor Day weekend plans of beachgoers. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s over the weekend.
Labor Day weekend roadtrippers and air traveler numbers are expected to peak over the next few days to finish out a record-breaking travel summer.