Mandatory Evacuations Ordered Due to Leaking Gas Line in Arvin

UPDATE: ARVIN, CA (Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 10 a.m.)— Captain Sean Collins from the Kern County Fire Department sent this update today regarding the emergency situation and subsequent evacuation of 8 homes on Nelson Court in Arvin.

Current situation: Advanced GeoEnvironmental Inc, will be on site
carrying out preliminary works before installing specialist vapor
recovery and ventilation equipment under affected homes. This involves
hand drilling and installing vapor wells. Attached to each well will be
a fan to assist in removal of the trapped vapor, which will vent 2’
above the roof line.

Time Plan: Equipment will be arriving on site shortly and installation
will continue through the weekend. When in place, the equipment will run
continuously. After a minimum of 24 hours of operation, an 8 hour
sampling of the levels of flammable gasses within residences will begin.
Monitoring will continue to until there is 0% flammable gas within the
structures, thereby ensuring the safety of homeowners before they will
be allowed to return. This may take several days to complete.

Future Works: Advanced GeoEnvironmental Inc, will continue to collect
soil samples and carry out any necessary remedial works at the rear of
the affected properties along Varsity Avenue.

Captain Sean Collins
Public Information Officer
Kern County Fire Department

ARVIN, CA (Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at 9:51 p.m.)—This release has just been issued by the Kern County Fire Department about a highly unusual mandatory evacuation order:

The Kern County Fire Department in conjunction with Kern County Environmental Health, Arvin Police Department, Arvin Animal Control, Petro Capital Resources, and Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez issued a mandatory evacuation for eight residential homes in Arvin on the evening of Tuesday, March 18, 2014.

High levels of flammable gas were detected inside homes and residents were advised to evacuate. The evacuation is a precautionary action to protect residents from a potential explosive atmosphere, due to a leaking petroleum gas line. Petro Capital Resources has identified the source of the release and will be working to remediate the hazardous atmosphere in and around the homes.

This is part of the March 14, 2014 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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