PORT ANGELES — A leaking water tank led to Ediz Hook Road being closed at the Sail & Paddle Park for nearly an hour Saturday.
Port Angeles firefighters and police closed the road at 4:30 p.m. after a passer by reported an unknown liquid leaking rapidly out of a 600-gallon tank outside a boathouse leased by the Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association from the city of Port Angeles.
Emergency responders kept the road closed until two firefighters wearing masks had approached the tank and confirmed that the leaking substance was only water. The firefighters stopped the leak by closing a valve.
The road was reopened at 5:20 p.m.
Port Angeles Fire Department Lt. Kevin Denton said the water is used by rowing association members to wash their boats.
Caution is appropriate when dealing with an unknown substance leaking from tank, he said.
“You never know what’s in it,” he said. “It was a good drill.”
Before they approached the tank, firefighters attempted to identify the substance by searching for markings on the tank with binoculars from about 200 yards away, but nothing was listed on the outside.
The firefighters waited to approach the tank until they were able to contact its owner, Denton said.
A helicopter from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles began circling the tank at about 5 p.m. in an attempt to check if there was sheen on the water near the tank.
“It was good to be able to work with the Coast Guard in a situation like this,” Denton said.
“The people who called did the right thing,” he added.
“It’s always best to mark your tanks.”
Three firefighters from Clallam County Fire District No. 2 also responded, along with the six Port Angeles firefighters.
Two fire trucks, a medic unit and a police car were on scene.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsula dailynews.com.
