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Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said authorities
responded to a business that makes cleaning products after
receiving a call shortly before noon about the cloud. Police
evacuated a nearby middle school as a precaution, Katon said.
They do not yet know what the chemical was, but all
shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, he said. The regional
air quality management district has deployed staff to the area
to investigate, said Connie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the
South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The company, Shepard Bros., could not immediately be reached for
comment.
Three company employees reported minor respiratory irritation
and declined further treatment, Katon said.
The leak occurred in the city of La Habra near a mix of
residential neighborhoods and industrial warehouses about 10
miles (16 kilometers) north of Anaheim.
Keary Godinez, who works in a nearby restaurant, said she saw
what appeared to be a dark yellow cloud spread across the sky.
The 20-year-old said she watched students across the street
board buses to evacuate, but police told her the eatery could
remain open.
“It looked like pollen dust,” Godinez said, adding she didn’t
detect a smell from the cloud. “It just kind of smeared in the
sky and started going away.”
La Habra Mayor Jose Medrano had urged residents to shelter in
place and said some streets were being evacuated.
Luis Gomez, who manages a nearby pickleball program, said
earlier Tuesday he saw the cloud, called police and was told
anyone within a mile radius of the location was under an
evacuation order.
—
Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California.
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