Police Block Off Road in Yorba Linda Because of Gasoline in a Storm Drain
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YORBA LINDA — Police blocked off a three-quarter-mile stretch of Richfield Road on Tuesday night as Orange County firefighters and hazardous materials workers tried to determine the source of a small river of gasoline flowing down a storm drain.
Orange County Fire Department Capt. Dan Young said there was no indication of a leak along the old pipelines in the area. He said someone may have illegally dumped the gasoline down the storm drain.
Fire officials first responded to the spill, traveling south along the road, at about 5:15 p.m.
Firefighters had trouble locating the source of the leak because half of the storm drain is underground, Young said.
As a precaution in case of explosion, Brea and Placentia police officers blocked off Richfield to traffic at Buena Vista and Orangethorpe avenues, forcing some local residents to walk home. At about 9 p.m., police let people drive to their houses.
Some residents complained of a gasoline smell beginning at 3 or 4 p.m. Tuesday, Young said.
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