La Habra officials detail response to chemical cloud

La Habra officials updated the City Council on the response to a Sept. 8 chemical cloud near Cypress and Lambert, where police and fire crews identified a chemical leak, evacuated Washington Middle School and issued a one-mile shelter-in-place advisory, according to Voice of OC.

Shepard Bros. said an isolated reaction during production released NOx fumes, while La Habra officials said the cause of the leak remains under investigation, Voice of OC reported.

The La Habra Police Department received calls at 11:45 a.m. on Sept. 8 about yellow and orange fumes near Cypress and Lambert, Voice of OC reported. Police and the LA County Fire Department identified the incident as a chemical leak.

Shepard Bros. said in a Sept. 11 statement that the release came from its facility. "On Tuesday an isolated reaction occurred during our scheduled production batch of a diluted acid cleaner used in food production cleaning. With abnormally warm ambient temperatures, an unanticipated oxidation reaction occurred which liberated NOx (a group of nitric oxides)," Shepard Bros. said in the statement, according to Voice of OC.

The company said 40 employees were evacuated out of caution, Voice of OC reported. La Habra officials did not name the company in their council presentation and said the leak cause remains under investigation.

La Habra Police Chief Adam Foster said police helped evacuate Washington Middle School, which Voice of OC reported is less than a mile from the manufacturing company. "While LA County Fire was bringing in additional resources, La Habra Police Department assisted La Habra City School District in actually evacuating Washington Middle School. That wasn’t on an order, that was a determination by us because of the lift that that is," Foster said at the council meeting, according to Voice of OC.

About two dozen firefighters initially responded with eight units, including a hazmat task force, and LA County Fire ultimately had 37 firefighters at the scene, Voice of OC reported. "We were able to also, initially, using our emergency response guy, put an advisory out in a one mile radius around the facility itself and were using ‘shelter-in-place’ as a tactic," LA County Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Siok said during the presentation, according to Voice of OC.

Officials also briefed the council on a Sept. 14 La Habra Heights brush fire that burned about 17.2 acres, injured two people and destroyed two homes and an outbuilding, Voice of OC reported. The cause of that fire is still under investigation.

La Habra Councilmember Daren Nigsarian thanked responders at the Sept. 21 meeting, saying, "I just want to say, I’m sure the whole community joins me in expressing our gratitude and appreciation for very well handled incidents. It was really very impressive," according to Voice of OC.