The rupture of an oil pipeline running under a highway in Burnaby, B.C. sent a geyser of oil into the sky and led to contamination of homes and the nearby Burrard Inlet.

The oil gushed for an estimated 25 to 30 minutes on Tuesday before crews were able to staunch the flow.

Freelance videographer Shawn Soucy lives near the spill site in Burnaby, a Vancouver suburb.

"I smelled what I thought was diesel fuel," he told CTV Newsnet. "I didn't see a spill, but when I got to the backyard, I saw the spray, the geyser of oil, above my neighbour's roofs."

Soucy said, "I shot it for a good 15, 20 minutes and I smelled it for another five or 10."

There were two different plumes, and the spray went up more than 20 metres, covering surrounding trees, houses and a Honda Civic, he said.

A sickening stench hangs in the air.

"This is a major, major oil spill. This isn't a couple of gallons," Soucy said.

Kinder Morgan Canada owns the pipeline. Philippe Reicher, a company spokesman, said the TransMountain Pipeline transfers crude oil from Edmonton to Burnaby. The oil is stored there before being piped onto tankers for shipment.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said Kinder Morgan worked as quickly as possible to turn the oil off after the rupture occurred.

Reicher said the city informed the company at 12:30 p.m. local time.

The spill appears to be an industrial mishap.

Soucy said workers "who were wiping the oil off themselves" told him a backhoe hit the 60-centimetre pipeline. Some video he shot showed an oil-drenched backhoe. He offered the workers the use of his shower.

Corrigan told reporters that the line burst after city crews were working on a road upgrade.

About 30 homes have been evacuated.

"A fireman came to the door. He hammered on the door and said, 'Get out quick. They've had a gusher up on Inlet Drive. You got to get out as quick as you can. Get your car and go'," said resident Bill Smith.

Corrigan told reporters that "out of an abundance of caution," up to 100 homes might be evacuated, in part because of the fumes.

Officials set up an evacuation centre to help people with food and accommodation.

Environmental concern

The oil did make it into nearby Burrard Inlet, which forms Burnaby's north boundary. Television images showed Canada geese on the shoreline right beside the oil-contaminated seawater.

"It's mainly an environmental concern at this point," Corrigan told Newsnet.

Booms were set up, and much of the oil that went into the storm sewer was collected in the pump station at the outfall, he said.

"Only the overflow ended up in the inlet. It's quite a system we have in place."

Vancouver's port and Stanley Park both sit on Burrard Inlet 17 kilometres to the west of the spill site. Vancouver's Mayor Sam Sullivan said the city would take "urgent action" to protect both sites.

Susan Rae, a public information officer, said the spill was contained. Contractors have been hired to begin the clean-up, she said.

The area is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including seals and waterfowl.

Gail Telfor of the Oiled Wildlife Society of B.C. said that crude oil is very toxic.

"If the birds preen it off or a mammal licks it off, it's going to make them terribly ill," she told CTV British Columbia.

In 2006, a much smaller spill contaminated 40 birds, leaving six dead.

Who's to blame?

The city is taking the position that Kinder Morgan didn't properly inform them about the pipeline's location.

"One of the guys who was there when he got sprayed, he was telling me was he was wiping himself down that the pipe was not where they thought it was," Soucy said.

A contractor was doing the work for the city.

"We were told that they were nine metres away from the pipe, and that when they dug, the pipe was in a different place than it was on a map," Corrigan said.

"We rely on the company to tell us where their pipelines are," he said.

Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan, said, "I don't  believe so" when asked if his company misinformed the city.

"We've been in contact with that contractor. ... Our understanding is that all the appropriate information was provided," he said.

Corrigan said he would have to sort it out between Kinder Morgan and the contractor "as to who's accurate about what we've been told to this point."

With reports from CTV's Jina You, David Kincaid, Heron Hanuman, Michelle Simick, Dag Sharman and files from The Canadian Press