Fumes Force Evacuation of Oxnard Store

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Wal-Mart store in Oxnard on Sunday after shoppers and employees complained of noxious fumes.

Oxnard fire officials answered the call to the Rose Avenue store about 4:30 p.m. They attributed the escaping fumes to a problem with the sewer system in the automotive department, which had become clogged with an unspecified gas-like fluid.

No one was injured in the incident, which caused the evacuation of the store and its employees for about 45 minutes, Battalion Chief Terry McAnally said.

“Some people said they felt nauseous, but when they got out into the fresh air, they were fine,” he said.

McAnally said he suspected that the fumes were caused either by a leak or by someone who poured something down the drain that was not supposed to enter the sewer system.

“We had a report of a natural gas leak,” McAnally said. “When we got here, we could smell something but we couldn’t locate anything.”

But Trish Tiscareno of Oxnard said the smell was still evident nearly an hour after the initial evacuation.

“It stinks really badly,” she said. “It makes me sick just walking by that section.”

Wal-Mart officials called the evacuation a precautionary measure.

“We evacuated as they recommended for the safety of our associates and our customers,” said J. W. Hudson, assistant store manager.