POTTERVILLE, Mich. — Emergency crews burned off propane Tuesday morning to reduce the risk of explosion and clear the way for a cleanup of a freight train that derailed a day earlier and forced the evacuation of the city, a wire service reported.
Residents could return as early as Tuesday evening, but it could be longer, Sheriff Rick Jones said.
The Grand Trunk train derailed Monday, sending 35 of its 58 cars off the tracks and forcing the evacuation of the city of 2,200 people. Nine cars carried propane; two had sulfuric acid. Propane was leaking from two cars.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the accident was not known, but Jones said foul play had been ruled out.
Jones said propane was being burned off and that each of the 35 derailed cars must be checked for safety before the evacuation ends.
“We have to move cautiously,” said Ian Thomson, a spokesman for Canadian National Railroad, parent company of Grand Trunk. “Our goal is to keep the area safe and the community safe.”
The derailment occurred within yards of a mobile home park and subdivision in Potterville, which is about 12 miles southwest of Lansing.
“It derailed right in front of our house,” said Kelli Barcomb, who lives with her husband and three children in the a mobile home park. “It was kind of scary because we’re usually out there and we watch it go by.”
Dozens of police and fire officials used bull horns and went door-to-door trying to clear the town and shut down all entrances to the city. The Michigan Department of Transportation shut down both highway exits to Potterville off Interstate 69, as well sections of other roads.
Consumers Energy cut off electrical service to most of the town at the request of fire officials, said utility spokesman Doug Crawford.
“Nothing like this has ever happened here, there’s no way you can plan for this,” said Benton Township-Potterville Fire Capt. T.J. Richardson.
Residents with nowhere else to go were given food and water at the sheriff’s office. More than 90 people and 17 volunteers were at the shelter, but several left after learning Canadian National would reimburse residents for hotel rooms.
Julie Potter arrived at the shelter about 4 p.m. with her three cats. She had been mowing her lawn when the train derailed and immediately fled.
“I’m a nervous wreck,” said Potter.
The Potterville schools have closed for the day Tuesday, the sheriff’s department said.