Traffic is flowing once again and residents are allowed to go back home after a chemical leak in Perris forced evacuations and prompted the closure of the 215 Freeway.
Both directions of the 215 reopened late Friday after incident commanders deemed the contents of the rail car were not an imminent threat to the freeway, according to authorities.As of Friday night, evacuation orders east of the 215 were lifted, and so was the evacuation warning. An evacuation order for the area west of the 215 remained in place.
Authorities said nearly 188,000 pounds of the chemical styrene leaked out of a rail car, creating a dangerous situation for nearby residents. Authorities said the situation could extend for as many as three days due to the hazardous nature of the styrene chemical in the damaged rail car. "This could resolve itself in two days, but it could get worse before it gets better,'' Cal Fire Division Chief John Crater said at a news conference Friday morning. "They've also said due to the heat building in the car, that builds pressure and it could have a release, meaning some sort of violent explosion. That's why we're taking an abundance of caution with this.''On the flip side, if the rail car begins to cool, it will mitigate the explosion risk.
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