Evacuation lifted following a third-alarm fire outside Heber

UPDATED- The Imperial County Fire Department said evacuation orders have been lifted and roads are open again.

Stay tuned for more details.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The business where the industrial fire occurred Wednesday is the Phillip Cattle Company located at 910 Nichols Road. Firefighters on scene said other agencies were called to assist. The evacuation radius is expected in place for two to three hours.

The Imperial County Fire Department said the fire was contained to the rail cart and the tanker. Authorities are estimating over 15,000 gallons still remain inside the tanks.

The evacuation radius remains in effect one mile around the incident. The Imperial County Road Department, along with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, has shut down the roads around.

ORIGINAL STORY

The Imperial County Fire Department and Office of Emergency Services are currently battling a third-alarm industrial fire in the 900 block of Nichols Road outside of Heber Calif.

According to fire officials, the fire sparked when an LNG tanker was offloading the product into a separate container and for unknown reasons, it ignited the fumes. Due to the water limitations, those operations have switched to a defensive approach.

Arriving fire crews have begun to fight the fire. Authorities currently have an evacuation radius of one mile and are asking the public to avoid the area.

Stay with us as we gather more information and we will continue to update this story.