Mop-Up at Chemical Fire Site Winds Down

The cleanup at the Larry Fricker Co. pesticide and fertilizer warehouse in Anaheim, site of a June 22 fire that caused the evacuation of more than 7,500 residents in three cities, was winding down Monday and expected to be completed by early Wednesday, city officials said.

The last closed on-ramp to the Riverside Freeway was reopened to traffic off State College Boulevard. And for the first time since the fire broke out, workers were able to drive directly into the area, instead of through the Orange County Transit District lot to the north of the cordoned-off area where cleanup work was being done.

When Environmental Protection Agency contract crews, hired under emergency federal Superfund authority, finish work at the warehouse off State College Boulevard and the Riverside Freeway, the Orange County Health Care Agency will have to inspect the building before Fricker employees will be allowed to resume operations, fire officials said.

Meanwhile, an investigation continues into the cause of the blaze, which fire officials have termed “suspicious.”