Train Wreck Evacuees Return Home

EUNICE, La. — Most of the 3,400 people who were evacuated from their homes after a train hauling hazardous chemicals derailed and exploded last weekend were allowed to return Thursday afternoon.

Only a few dozen families were still kept from their houses while the cleanup continued, and officials hoped more would be able to return today.

Many of the town’s 11,000 residents have been living in hotels and friends’ homes since Saturday, when 34 cars of the 113-car Union Pacific train derailed. One car exploded near a country club at the edge of town.

No one was injured, but the explosion sent fireballs into the sky, and the nearby woods caught fire. Officials feared other explosions could create more danger for residents and evacuated homes as far as two miles away. Soot and ash still covered cars and lawn furniture in parts of the evacuation area Thursday.