Fuel spill near Russell Road flood area

UPDATE 12-19-2014:

Captain Lauderdale from the Salinas Fire Department said crews from Monterey County Public Works were the ones to identify the bus yard as the source of the leak. A school district maintenance worker said luckily the tanks were not full since they gas up the buses on Thursday. The Salinas Fire Department believes 15-20 gallons of gas/diesel leaked.

The school district will have a company come out and clean the drains in the area.

An update on their water samples will follow.

12-18-2014:

County crews and marine life specialists are responding to a hazmat situation in the area of Russell Road hit hard by flood waters during these recent storms.

Salinas Fire said the diesel spill was a result of the recent flooding, but county public works and environmental health crews say it could have come from various sources and are still trying to determine where it originated.

Crews have been responding, putting up booms, and testing the water since about 10:30am Thursday morning.

Marine life specialists already happened to be on scene testing the Santa Rita Creek’s bacterial levels after the flood because the creek flows into the Salinas Rive which dumps into the ocean.

Water testing more than likely won’t be back for 24 hours according to those taking samples on scene.