Gasoline Spill in La Habra Baffles Police

Authorities are baffled over the cause of a mysterious gasoline spill that fouled a portion of the La Habra sewer system on Tuesday and forced the partial closure of Imperial Highway throughout the day.

“We still don’t know where it’s coming from,” Police Sgt. Perry Miller said Tuesday afternoon. “They are reassessing the situation on an hourly basis.”

Police and fire officials were alerted to the underground spill after someone called 911 and complained of a strong gasoline odor near Walnut Street, Miller said.

Police then closed the eastbound lanes on Imperial Highway from Idaho to Walnut streets and rerouted commuter traffic for a short time. Several agencies were alerted, including the county Environmental Management Agency, Caltrans and the Air Quality Management District.

Representatives from several oil companies were also called to the scene to investigate while crews flushed the sewer in hopes of detecting fresh leakage.

It was also unknown how much gasoline was in the sewer system, but Miller said that it did not appear to be flowing in any large volume. “I couldn’t see it. It’s just the smell that’s powerful,” Miller said.

No one was evacuated from the area, which is near a school, but Miller said that there is a potential for an explosion if there is a spark or flame in the sewer system. “You can have an explosive situation,” Miller said, “but there really is no major hazard.”

Attention began to focus on an Arco gas station located near the sewer, but as of late Tuesday, it was still unknown if the gas station, which was closed for the day, was responsible for the leakage.

The stretch of Imperial Highway that was closed was not expected to be open until today.