A chemical leak occurred in Los Banos Monday morning, causing a shelter in place order while emergency services worked to identify the origin of the problem and stop the escaping gas.
Police Chief Ray Reyna said his department received reports of a strong order of ammonia at approximately 5:30 a.m. He said the odor was “all over” the city.
Reyna said the odor was identified as coming from an ammonia container on the 300 block of Johnson Road.
“These containers have systems to keep them from leaking, but sometimes they fail,” Reyna said. “We contacted OES (Office of Emergency Services) so they could see if that’s what happened and fix the leak.”
Reyna said the county unit that deals with hazardous materials, as well as the Los Banos Fire Department, responded to the scene.
Reyna said the police department blocked off traffic within a mile radius of the leak. He said it was important to do so to protect the public and to make sure no one drove over any equipment being used by emergency personnel.
A shelter in place order was issued. Reyna said schools were not asked to close.
The Los Banos Unified School District sent out a message to parents of students. It read in part, “The district is aware of a message sent out by city officials this morning. Since then, we have been in contact with the fire chief and city officials. They have assured us that it is safe for all staff and students to attend school today. We will be operating as normal.”
By approximately 10:30 a.m. the smell had dramatically dissipated. Reyna said the odor could no longer be smelled outside of the general area of Johnson Road. He said he no longer believed citizens were in any danger. However, Reyna said, emergency services personnel still needed to go through the process of making sure residents near Johnson Road weren’t experiencing illness from the ammonia leak.
Hours after most of the city was free of any lingering ammonia odor, emergency personnel was still at the scene monitoring air quality and making sure the leak was stopped. “We’re not concerned with time. We do not want to hurry and get the streets open. We want to get this right and make sure everyone is safe,” Reyna said
