Petroleum Incident in Orick

A new hazardous materials incident involving petroleum has been reported to the California Office of Emergency Services.

According to a report published by the office, the incident took place at or near a road in Orick at around 12:15 p.m. today.

About eight gallons of a substance described as “non-pcb mineral oil” were released to the environment, according to the person who called in the report.

Here’s the description of the incident that was recorded by the Office of Emergency Services:

Reporting Party states a tree fell over colliding with power lines, which snapped the adjacent power pole - bringing the transformer to ground; causing the release. The spill went onto asphalt and soil; no waterways impacted. A spill response crew is responding to do the clean-up. Personnel are also responding to replace the power pole and transformer. There is a current power outage in the area. There will be a road closure during the clean-up, but the spill is in a very rural area.

This was the first hazardous materials incident recorded by the Office of Emergency Services in the Orick area this year and the 42nd petroleum spill in the county overall.