Fuel spill forces more families to evacuate along Highway 35

By JENNIFER McBRIDE / for the Eagle

POLSON — Four more families left their homes over the weekend due to the gasoline spill on Highway 35, bringing the total number of residences evacuated because of an April 2 flipped fuel truck to five.

Carey Cooley, spokesperson for the Lake County Office of Emergency Management Services, said that four of the homes had tested positive for dangerous levels of gasoline fumes. The fifth home was evacuated as a precaution. Lake County, together with the insurance company who is paying for the cleanup, is looking for "long-term" alternative housing for the evacuees, she said.

"It's pretty devastating for these folks," Cooley added. "They have no idea when they [can] come back." Because of potential danger, the residents have been forbidden to take their furniture with them in houses with high concentrations of fumes.

Engineers in the area also discovered free product floating in ponds for the first time last week, including the pool on Ron and Barbara Kohlers' property. The Kohlers were the first family to be evacuated. The response team has set up booms to absorb the fuel. No free product had been detected in either the local well or Flathead Lake, but Cooley said the group applied for permits from the tribes to dig a 400-foot trench between the spill site and the shore.

In the meantime, Cooley said the engineers are coming up with plans for a permanent water treatment system for the two creeks which continue to show signs of contamination. They also have drilled five wells, four of which have tested positive for gasoline.

On Friday, Cooley said representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency came down to take control of the project. By Saturday, they had turned control back over to the tribes and the county.

"The EPA said there's sure nothing they could be doing any better," Cooley said. "The crew was doing everything perfect and right, which was good to hear."

Cooley declined to speculate on the costs of cleaning up the 6,380 gallons of gasoline spilled from a pup tanker. However, she did say the truck's insurance company was reimbursing all the costs for the clean-up.