Hoodline received a tip around 1:24pm today about water pouring down the Vulcan Stairs in Corona Heights.

Both the Fire Department and Water Department have been called in to try to stop the issue, but in the meantime, much of the area around the stairs is waterlogged, as these photos sent by a tipster show. 

Water flowing down Vulcan stairs in San Francisco !! @abc7now pic.twitter.com/0LycwxDsQn

— Joseph Nunez (@ExplosefJoseph) November 19, 2015

Update, 4:01pm: Neighbor Martin Burbidge says that the flooding was caused by a water main break that began around 11:40am. Water bubbled out of a hole in the ground, flowing down the stairs.

Burbidge said that the fire department shut off the water to address the problem, and houses along the stairs still have their water turned off. "Both the fire department and the water department have been here,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what caused it, because I don’t think they know.”

Views of the flooded stairs. (Photos: Alisa Scerrato/Hoodline)

Burbidge added that in early 2014, a sewer main broke in the same area. "It was really dirty, toilet paper everywhere." He said that he was concerned because this break, like the previous one, occurred in close proximity to a redwood tree with shallow roots; if those roots become waterlogged, the tree could become unstable. 

The redwood tree at issue. (Photo: Alisa Scerrato/Hoodline)

We'll keep you updated on when the water gets turned back on, what might have caused the break, and the future of the redwood tree.