Railcar leak forces hundreds to flee homes in Ohio

WILLARD, Ohio - Residents evacuated from hundreds of homes in northern Ohio because of a leak of a flammable liquid from a railcar could still be out of their homes on Thanksgiving Day.

They had to leave their homes in the early hours of Wednesday, and sought shelter with friends and family, at the high school or in local motels.

"Most likely we're not going to have Thanksgiving with our family," Jennifer Barnett told The Blade in Toledo. She said police awoke her family around 2:30 a.m., and she, her husband and her three children were taken to the school by van, without their own vehicle.

No injuries were reported from the leak.

Local responders, crews from CSX Corp. and cleanup workers were trying to determine how much of the liquid spilled in Willard, about 65 miles southwest of Cleveland.

Four cars derailed at the rail yard late Tuesday while switching trains, and officials believe that's when one car was damaged, though that hasn't been confirmed, said Gary Sease, a spokesman for the freight railroad. He said the nearly full tanker that leaked was carrying about 26,000 gallons of styrene monomer, which is used to make various plastic and rubber products.

The liquid leaked from a 4-inch hole for several hours before it was resealed, Willard's city manager, Brian Humphress, told The Sandusky Register.

Officials warned that the cleanup could take a while, possibly into Thanksgiving Day, and it wasn't clear when evacuated residents might be allowed to return.