A 10-inch water main burst in Oak Harbor Thursday, sending a deluge of water to collect, creating a small lake along Highway 20. Once the water stopped flowing, a sinkhole approximately 10 feet deep developed, nearly swallowing a city pump truck.

Rich Tyhuis, operations manager for water and streets, said he did not know what caused the main, which was in front of Whidbey Vision Care, Inc., to burst. The line, which was more than 30 years old, is a feeder for much of downtown.

But because of the web of pipelines, only the vision clinic, Harman and Olson Pediatric Dentistry and Island Foot and Ankle Care were without water.

“Right now, our main concern is trying to get these people back on the water,” Tyhius said.

Crews spent Thursday and Friday working to stabilize most of the parking lot, which the water had undermined. They also replaced the older, concrete pipe with a new composite line.

Bruce Platt, who owns the buildings that were nearly flooded, said that he was not sure if any water got into the crawl space below his buildings.

“It’s quite a sight,” he said. “I think I should go back and get my fly rod.”

Several firefighters from the Oak Harbor Fire Department shed their fireproof bunker gear in order to fish out several slabs of blacktop that were clogging the main storm drain.

Candice Peruello, who works at a nearby dentist office, watched as the firefighters scooped water from the floor of her grey Honda Civic. She was with a patient who was on nitrous when someone told her she needed to go get her car.

“I couldn’t leave my patient,” she said. “But the doctor came in and said I had better go. When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh my god, my car.’ ”

By then, the water had been flowing for nearly 10 minutes, she said. She was unable to go to her car.

“So I just left it there,” Pereullo said.

She, along with several other car owners, was on her way to city hall to file a claim with the city.

Tyhuis said that the pipe was old, but other than that, had no real reason for bursting.

“It split for no real reason,” he said. “We had nothing unusual that happened.”

You can reach News-Times reporter Eric Berto at eberto@whidbeynewstimes.com