A construction mishap Friday cracked open Saugus High School’s main water valve, which shot water high but left sinks and toilets dry.

The trouble forced school officials to send automated phone calls to thousands of students’ families before canceling classes and shutting down the campus at noon because of safety concerns. Sheriff’s deputies arrived to direct the ensuing traffic, which packed Bouquet Canyon Road and Centurion Way. Students on foot flooded the sidewalks.
  

Around 8 a.m., a C.W. Driver cement mixer rolled over the main valve to the school’s water system in a construction area near the administration building, said Principal Bill Bolde. A 20-foot-high geyser erupted during first-period classes, leaving the site soaked and muddy.

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