Anaheim : Burning Chemicals Bag Disrupts Freeway Traffic

A burning bag containing a sulfur-based compound disrupted freeway traffic for about three hours Tuesday in Anaheim, first as passing cars fanned the fire and later when workmen closed an on-ramp and two traffic lanes to clean up the spill, authorities said.

A witness told authorities that the bag, which also contained another unidentified chemical, fell off a truck onto the southbound Santa Ana Freeway at the Manchester Avenue on-ramp about 10 a.m., Anaheim Fire Marshal Michael Doty said. Fire officials said they were uncertain what caused the material to burn.

A Santa Fe Springs truck driver identified as Thomas Wood complained of difficulty breathing, a runny nose and difficulty swallowing after driving through a small cloud caused by the burning material. Wood was treated and released from St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The burning bag “would flare up from the wind as (motorists) would drive by,” Anaheim Fire Department dispatcher Jonathan Wilkes said.

A motorist driving a truck hauling 50-pound bags of sulfur was questioned at the scene, but denied that the bag had fallen from his truck, Doty said. An investigation will be conducted, authorities said.

A hazardous materials unit from Anaheim Fire Department responded to the scene, and a private firm specializing in cleaning up toxic spills removed the material and hauled it away by 1 p.m.