Dozens of Nash Road residents were forced to stay in their homes
Friday evening when a silo spewed an unknown substance over a
nearly two-block area.
Dozens of Nash Road residents were forced to stay in their homes Friday evening when a silo spewed an unknown substance over a nearly two-block area.
A reported explosion at a silo on the 1000 block of Nash Road sent an unknown amount of dust and material floating down over a wide area encompassing most of the 1000 and 900 block area, officials with the San Benito County Fire Department said.
The silo was reportedly located on property belonging to San Benito Supply, however, officials with the company could not be reached for comment on the incident or to confirm if the silo belongs to them.
No one was injured in the incident, fire officials said.
The dust and material covered cars and everything in its path with a thin layer.
As a precautionary measure, residents were told to stay in their homes and close their windows to minimize exposure to the material.
The dust-covered area of Nash Road was also blocked off to prevent motorists from getting the material on their cars or spreading it to other areas.
Because fire officials were not certain what the material was, they decided to treat it as though it may have some toxic property to be on the safe side.
Officials with the County’s environmental health division were called in to help assess the situation.
Further inquires revealed that there was no explosion and that the silo was accidentally overfilled and sent building material spilling out of the silo, a fire official said. It was that accidental overflow that spread throughout the area.
It was also later determined that the material was not toxic and did not pose a risk as a hazardous material.
The road was reopened after clean-up crews cleared out most of the building material. The spill is still under investigation.
