Around 11 am this morning the valve on a water meter broke shooting a 50 foot geyser into the air in front of Incahoots Vintage Clothing store, and the Downtown Diner.
It was so cold that as soon as the water fell back to the sidewalk it began to freeze. The fire department set up emergency tape and to alert pedestrians of the hazard. While both businesses remained open only one soul managed to maneuver through the waterfall to get into Downtown Diner.
Flagstaff water department personnel said it would probably take an hour to get to a valve to turn off the water long enough to allow them to replace the broken valve so that water service can be restored to that portion of the block.
Nancy Wardell owner of Incahoots pointed out that the water was freezing as soon as it fell back to the sidewalk making for slippery passage with the new sheen of black ice.
