LA MESA -- A water-main break forced the closure of part of an East County thoroughfare Friday and left a nearby business flooded.

The ruptured 8-inch-diameter cast-iron pipe began inundating the 8400 block of La Mesa Boulevard with muddy flows shortly after 11:30 a.m., according to the Helix Water District.

Crews had the overflow halted within 15 minutes, HWD spokesman Jeff Barnes said. By then, an art gallery near the site of the break had flooded, he said.

Three businesses, including a funeral home, were without working plumbing through late afternoon, until utility personnel were able to restore service to the buildings via temporary, above-ground lines.

The street was closed in the area for about an hour. In the early afternoon, one of the two lanes -- the eastbound one -- was reopened, Barnes said.