Severe flooding causes post office to close in Downtown Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Post Office in Downtown Fresno is closed after a problem with the building's sprinkler system caused severe flooding to the building.

It happened on Tuesday morning on E Street and El Dorado.

Fire officials say the building was testing its sprinkler system when a problem occurred with the valve, causing water to flood inside for about 20 minutes.

Authorities say the flooding reached to about a foot -- and damaged more than two-thirds of the building.

The Water Department helped stop the water-flow by turning on the fire hydrants near the post office.

"What the water department was attempting to do was relieve the pressure and slow it down while they shut the water main off to the property , took a little bit to get the water shut off so they were doing that to minimize the amount of water going into the building," said Devin McGuire of Fresno Fire Department.

It's unknown at this time when the post office will be open again but crews are working to clean up the mess.