Crews continue work on sealing water, methane leak in Hawthorne

The westbound Imperial Highway between Hawthorne Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue was closed Tuesday morning while crews worked to seal a well that had been spewing water and methane gas in Hawthorne.

Crews pumped water into the well throughout the night.

Los Angeles County Fire Captain Brian Jordan said they were mixing a powder solution to inject into the well in order to complete the seal.

"Eventually they may use the term 'cap,' but there may not necessarily be a cap be put on the top. There's a lot of things to do before they do that. They're dealing with water and methane — more so the methane — that's coming out of Mother Earth and that's under a lot of pressure," Jordan said.

Thirty-seven families have been displaced since the well started leaking last Thursday. The company that owns the well is putting them up in hotels. Fire officials say they will determine when it is safe for residents to return home once engineers ensure the well is sealed.