Kirkland Public Works crews are responding to a water main break at the 11400 block of N.E. 90th St. in the Highlands neighborhood. City officials do not know the cause at this time but state 16 homes are without water Thursday night.

“(It’s) hard to tell because it’s night-time how many homes have water on their property,” said Kirkland City spokeswoman Marie Stake. “Repair should be complete in a few hours.”

Kirkland Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Haschak said two houses had flooding in their basement- one with six inches, the other with 12-18 inches of water.

Haschak said water was coming up around both sides of the roads when firefighters arrived. He said they had to divert the water from the street.

It took about 30 minutes to shut down the water main and finish pumping out the houses.

Crews also woke up homeowners to alert them of the flooding and to make sure their homes weren’t damaged as well.

“Apparently some work with the water system was being done earlier today,” Haschak said.

The incident is still under investigation and it is unknown what caused the water main to break.

The Reporter will update this story as more information becomes available.