California rail car chemical leak draws fears of ‘violent explosion,’ spurs evacuations
Freeway closed in Perris, California, as evacuations for the leaking chemicals are underway
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A rail car leaking chemicals in Riverside County, California, on Friday has prompted officials there to evacuate nearly 200 homes over concerns that a "violent explosion" could occur at any moment.
The incident, which started unfolding Thursday night in Perris, also has closed a portion of the 215 Freeway in both directions. Fire officials say the chemical leaking from the train is styrene, which is used to make items such as latex and synthetic rubber, according to Fox11 LA.
"I’ve been on the phone with experts all night from Florida to Texas, what they are telling me is this can resolve itself in two days, it could get worse before it gets better," Riverside County Fire Division Chief John Crater told reporters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They have also said due to the heat building in the car that builds pressure it could have a release, meaning some sort of violent explosion, so that is why we are taking an abundance of caution with this," he added. "We are still in a pretty critical situation."
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An aerial image showing the rail car that is leaking chemicals in Perris, Calif. (CAL Fire/Riverside County Fire Department)
As of right now, Crater said it's too risky for first responders to get near the rail car, which is stopped along a stretch of train tracks used by businesses that deal with the chemical.
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Another view showing the stricken rail car. (CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department )
"We have been flying our drones to get video footage all night and the rail car is ... red-hot," he added. "It’s too dangerous for us to take any mitigation efforts or even approach it at this time."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Officials in Riverside County, California said Friday that it is too dangerous to go near the leaking train car. (Riverside County Fire Department)
Officials say at least 170 homes have been evacuated so far within a half-mile radius of the leak.
The cause of the leak was not immediately clear, but officials also said temperature readings are trending in a positive direction.