18-Wheeler Rollover in Plainview Leaks Ethanol, Causes Evacuations
An early morning rollover in Plainview has caused some businesses to be evacuated near the main intersection on the east side of the City of Plainview.
A press release from the Plainview Fire Department stated:
At approximately 02:00 this morning, Plainview Fire Department was called to the intersection of West 5th St. and Columbia St. for an 18-wheeler rollover. PFD crews arrived to find an ethanol tanker overturned in the roadway. The tanker did have some ethanol leaking from it, approximately 2,500 gallons was released. As a precaution, fire department personnel set up a 1,000-foot exclusion zone. Several businesses in the area were either evacuated or not allowed to open this morning due to being within this exclusion zone. No injuries were reported. The fuel was off loaded from the damaged truck into another truck called to the scene, then the wreckage was cleaned up by wrecker service. Columbia St from 5th St. to 3rd St. is still closed at this time until further notice, waiting until commercial haz-mat cleanup crew can arrive to clean up the remaining spill and dirt used to dam the spill. The public is asked to avoid the area if possible as traffic is being diverted.
No additional details are known at this time, and updates will be posted here as we learn more about the situation.