Vapor Cloud on Lomita Gives Edna Maguire, Ring Mountain Schools a Scare

There’s rarely a dull moment for neighbors of Edna Maguire Elementary and Ring Mountain Day schools these days.

A pool cleaning chemical being used at a home on Lomita Drive sent a vapor cloud into the sky in the Alto neighborhood Friday morning, prompting emergency officials to issue a shelter-in-place warning that lasted for more than an hour, according to Marin County Sheriff's Lt. Barry Heying.

The vapor cloud was caused by a common pool cleaning chemical, muriatic acid, in the air at a home at 49 Lomita Drive at 8:40 a.m.

Southern Marin Fire personnel responded joined Sheriff’s deputies at the scene, as did California Highway Patrol officers. As a precaution, the street was closed off at 8:40 a.m. until the substance dissipated, Heying said.

Students, teachers and administrators at both Edna Maguire and adjacent Ring Mountain Day School on Lomita Drive were told to shelter in place, Heying said.

The warning was lifted when the cloud dissipated at 9:53 a.m. and it was determined that no danger existed.

No injuries were reported. The incident was declared over at 9:53 a.m.

The Alto neighborhood has been a hub of activity in recent months during the ongoing reconstruction of Edna Maguire, as well as related projects by Pacific Gas & Electric and Marin Municipal Water District. The school district has received a number of complaints about those projects, most of which have centered on the dust and noise created in the area.

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