An ethanol tank burns at the NuStar Energy facility in Crockett, Calif., Oct. 15, 2019.“We’re examining one in particular,” said Hill.
“We believe that it is safe. We want to make absolutely sure and so that assessment team is in there looking at that one tank right now. The rest of the tanks we were concerned about all day yesterday, we determined they maintained their structural integrity. They are safe,” he continued.
While there were no employee injuries, one NuStar employee was unable to evacuate and was forced to hid in a culvert until he was rescued by first responders. One firefighter, however, did sustain minor injuries.
The fire, which shut down both directions of Interstate 80, caused major delays during the rush hour period and forced frustrated drivers to seek alternate routes. The highway eventually reopened late Tuesday night.
Residents in surrounding areas were forced to shelter in place for several hours, including children who were forced to shelter in schools as the air conditions were not safe enough to allow parents to pick up their kids. By Wednesday though, officials say there is no ongoing public health threat and the shelter in place had been lifted.
(MORE: How the California power outages reduce wildfire risk: What you need to know) “One of the things that the assessment team that is in the facility right now is doing is they are looking at a solution of mitigating the vapor emissions that are coming off of both of those where the tanks location were,” said Hill.
“What’s happened is the two tank’s that burned were more or less destroyed in the fires and the secondary containment facilities which are earth and berms around those tanks are now holding the remainders of the materials that were in the tanks,” he added.
ABC News' Jenna Harrison, Marilyn Heck, Alyssa Pone and Timmy Truong, Leah Larosa and Will Carr contributed to this report.
Kaynak:Abcnews