News: Evacuations in SoCal desert continue

CARRU-20477 03/03/2008 8:33 PM Hammond Grant Street X Hammond Road Mecca Freight Train Derailment With Hazardous Materials

CALFIRE/Riverside County Fire Deprtment in conjunction with Union Pacific Railroad are making progress on the incident. Hazardous material teams continue to monitor the air quality which is improving in the area. Teams will start to move uninvolved cars this evening to make access to the crash site and examine damage and determine threat to the area. Crews will be working through the night and will remain in the area until the incident is completely mitigated. 65 total cars on the train. 29 total cars derailed, 6 of the rail cars are upright. 23 of the 29 cars derailed are in the pile and 5 of the derailed cars were leaking. At the time of this update, 2 of the railcars are secure. 3 are still overturned and emergency personnel are working to upright them and evaluate the situation. Road Closures: Numerous road closures are in effect being coordinated by the California Highway Patrol. • Hwy 111 between Johnson and Cleveland • Hammond between 66th and 70th Ave • Grant between National and Hammond Evacuation Areas: South of Hwy 111 between Johnson and Wheeler and south to the Salton Sea. Evacuation Center: Coachella Valley High School, 83800 Airport Blvd in Mecca.

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UPDATE 03/04/2008 9:30 PM: CALFIRE/Riverside County Fire Deprtment in conjunction with Union Pacific Railroad are making progress on the incident. Hazardous material teams continue to monitor the air quality which is improving in the area. Teams will start to move uninvolved cars this evening to make access to the crash site and examine damage and determine threat to the area. Crews will be working through the night and will remain in the area until the incident is completely mitigated. 65 total cars on the train. 29 total cars derailed, 6 of the rail cars are upright. 23 of the 29 cars derailed are in the pile and 5 of the derailed cars were leaking. At the time of this update, 2 of the railcars are secure. 3 are still overturned and emergency personnel are working to upright them and evaluate the situation.

Road Closures: Numerous road closures are in effect being coordinated by the California Highway Patrol. • Hwy 111 between Johnson and Cleveland • Hammond between 66th and 70th Ave • Grant between National and Hammond Evacuation Areas: South of Hwy 111 between Johnson and Wheeler and south to the Salton Sea. Evacuation Center: Coachella Valley High School, 83800 Airport Blvd in Mecca.

UPDATE 03/03/2008 11:15 PM: Hy 111 between Johnson and Cleveland remains closed until further notice. Approximately 60 personnel are assigned to the incident from multiple agencies. Field PIO, Captain Julie Hutchinson is at the scene and can be reached at 951-377-8380. Additional updates will be posted as information becomes available. CAL FIRE/Riverside County Firefighters are at scene of a train derailment. 12 of the 55 rail cars have derailed, at least two of the rail cars are on fire and leaking an unknown substance. Riverside County Firefighters, along with the Riverside County Hazardous Materials Team and Riverside


News story: Officials extend evacuation at SoCal derailment site by 24 hours

MECCA – Dozens of residents who had to leave their homes after a train derailment spewed toxic fumes into the air must stay out for at least another day, a fire official said Wednesday.

Hazardous material crews and Union Pacific workers were still struggling to remove the 29 train cars that derailed around 9 p.m. Monday and hadn't reached the site of the tankers that spilled acid, said Riverside County fire Capt. Fernando Herrera.

“They made a lot of progress last night, but we are not at that point,” he said. “I would say it's probably going to be another 24 hours depending on how things progress today.”

Sixty residents of about 40 rural homes were evacuated after a 65-car train derailed in the Southern California agricultural community north of the Salton Sea.

No injuries were reported.

Herrera said Union Pacific was putting evacuees up in hotels and a shelter that was set up immediately after the accident had closed.

One car leaked phosphoric acid and another may have leaked stronger hydrochloric acid, railroad officials said. The leaks appeared to have stopped and crews were pouring soil over acid pooled on the ground, Herrera said.

Acute short-term inhalation of hydrochloric acid can cause eye, nose, and respiratory tract inflammation, plus a buildup of fluid in the lungs, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

The train was heading from West Colton to El Centro when it went off the tracks about 140 miles southeast of Los Angeles. About 2,000 feet of rail were damaged and 25 trains were delayed, with some routed through Salt Lake City.

Source: SoSD