SOUTHLAND : 1,500 Evacuated in Saticoy Blasts
About 1,500 people were forced out of their homes for 12 hours overnight when explosions and a fire at a chemical factory sent a cloud of toxic fumes over Saticoy, 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, fire officials said.
Two firemen overcome by the fumes were hospitalized, and 15 others were treated and released. Firemen let the fire, fed by a mixture of acids, cyanide and explosive hydrogen, burn itself out at the Pacific Intermediates Chemical Co. plant. The evacuees spent the night in schools before being allowed to return to their homes.
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