Riverside County residents in Pine Cove breathed a collective sigh of relief Saturday after a hazardous material situation prompted by a propane leak from a semi-truck was resolved. The neighborhood, nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains, experienced tense moments as authorities responded to the incident. According to a KTLA report, evacuation orders were lifted after crews managed to mitigate the threat posed by the leaky truck situated on the 53100 block of Mountain View Drive.
HAZMAT - rpt @ 9:31AM. 53100 block Mountain View Drive in Pine Cove. Firefighters on-scene of a large propane semi-truck with an active leak. Additional resources requested and responding. #MountainIC @RivCoNow pic.twitter.com/l06IdmEOcv
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) November 2, 2024
The emergency began unfolding around 9:30 a.m. when the semi-truck was discovered leaking propane, a gas that poses a significant risk of fire and explosion under certain conditions. Firefighters and a hazmat team were swiftly dispatched to the scene, described by CBS Los Angeles. Residents of Mountain View Drive were ordered to evacuate, while those living on Walter Drive were instructed to hunker down and avoid igniting any potential spark. "The hazmat team is on-scene working on mitigating the leak, which has significantly slowed," the fire department said.
Efforts to contain and halt the propane leak proved successful, as fire officials provided updates throughout the ordeal. By 1:40 p.m., Cal Fire announced on social media, "The leak has been mitigated. The evacuations and shelter-in-place orders have been lifted and all engines have cleared the scene," in a statement obtained by KTLA.
During the incident, a temporary evacuation center was established at the Pine Cove Water District as a precautionary measure, ensuring those displaced had a location to convene while the scene was being rendered safe by authorities, as recorded by KTLA.
