Evacuations urged in Ohio town as train wreck burns
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors.
About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine at about 9 p.m. Friday as a train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders have been reported.
East Palestine officials said Sunday that emergency responders were monitoring but keeping their distance from the fire, saying remediation efforts could not begin as long as the cars smoldered. The evacuation covers a a one-mile radius, officials said.
Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, said one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash during the night. He warned more arrests would follow if people did not to stay away.
“I don’t know why anybody would want to be up there; you’re breathing toxic fumes if you’re that close,” he said, stressing that monitors of air quality away from the fire showed no levels of concern and the town’s water is safe because it is fed by groundwater unaffected by some material that went into streams. Environmental protection agency crews were working to remove contaminants from streams and monitor water quality.
Fire Chief Keith Drabick said it was so important to avoid the area “because a train carrying hazardous material wrecked in the town and is burning. Doesn’t get any simpler than that.”
Sheriffs went door-todoor Sunday to count residents remaining and urge people within the evacuation area to leave. “We are asking residents to please evacuate and cooperate,” officials said in a statement. Schools and village offices will be closed Monday and officials would determine that afternoon whether the school closure would be extended.