Park City fire crews help clean up mess of quick-lime spilled Thursday afternoon

PARK CITY, Utah — It was an awful mess on Bitner Rd. in Park City Thursday night as crews continued to clean up after 20,000 lbs. of a substance called quick-lime spilled out onto the road around 4:30 p.m.

 

Firefighters and HazMat techs are out on Bitner Road investigating an unknown substance that was reportedly spilled from a truck. The white substance is on the WB side of the road from the Bitner round-about all the way down the road. pic.twitter.com/B2AGzk3kEQ

— Park City Fire (@PCFireDistrict) March 1, 2019

“Initial reports are that a truck struck a boulder, tearing a hole in his truck.  That caused the quick-lime, which is used in helping concrete dry quickly, to spill out.  Quick-lime is both caustic and toxic so we were taking all precautions to keep everyone safe,” says Park City Fire spokesman Tricia Hurd-Hazelrigg.

She says this happened in an area that encompasses many subdivisions, including Glenwild, Canyon Creek Condos, Blackhawk Station and Spring Creek which are in the area of the spill.

She says safety crews were on hand to make sure the substance did not leak into any storm drains.  For several hours, Bitner Road remained closed, however about 11:00 p.m. residents of Canyon Creek and Blackhawk were able to leave or return home via I-80.

Hurd-Hazelrigg says no one was hurt.  Heavy snowfall was slowing down clean-up efforts as water from the snow mixed with the toxic quick-lime, turning it into a thick muddy substance.

 

Bitner Road is still blocked at this time. We are taking steps to mitigate the lime in the road . Unfortunately HazMat calls are notorious for being slow. Utmost safety for citizens and the environment are our number one priority. pic.twitter.com/UGRwo8SWUO

— Park City Fire (@PCFireDistrict) March 1, 2019