Diesel Fuel Spills onto Olive Lane, Leaving Odor, Barricades but No Injuries

Several blocks of Olive Lane between MacCool Lane and Mission Gorge Road remained closed Sunday afternoon as hazardous-materials crews cleaned up possibly hundreds of gallons of spilled diesel fuel.

The spill may have occurred overnight at the Harrison Trucking Inc. storage yard north of state Route 52, according to TV reports.

Santee Deputy Fire Chief Richard Mattick said his department was the first to the scene after odor of diesel fuel was reported about noon. Several agencies followed. Nobody was hurt, and no evacuations were ordered.

The spill down Olive Lane was more a potential “environmental disaster” than a danger to residents of nearby single-family homes and apartments.

“Once the fuel starts flowing into the waterway, it’s very dangerous to the environment,” he said.

Another firefighter said diesel fuel tanks had leaked but didn’t know why.  No estimate was available on how much fuel spilled onto Olive Lane, puddling in high concentrations in several places.

NBC San Diego reported that the owner of HTI “was pretty devastated” at what reporter Brandi Powell depicted as a case of theft or vandalism, where someone damaged trucks containing the fuel.

A woman answering the phone at HTI—Harrison Trucking—said she couldn’t immediately share information about the spill because of the sheriff’s investigation.

But Mattick says the business owner was on the scene and was arranging for cleanup services. 

The county Department of Environmental Health also was at the scene, Mattick said.

Residents had to park at the nearby Plaza de Cuyamaca Shopping Center and walk to and from their homes. Some carried packages out to their cars.

Santee fire officials hoped this was the last of their calls Sunday—after seeing wind blow down power lines in front of Fire Station 4 at 8950 Cottonwood Ave. around 11 a.m.—preventing trucks from leaving the station, Mattick said. But that was remedied.

“The apparatus has been moved so it can respond to calls,” he said.

Santee Fire units also were called to a traffic accident on the west side of town where a transformer was hit, taking out some power, Mattick said.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. reported that more than 50 customers in the Carlton Hills area lost power for several hours, starting at 10:34 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.  At 6:30 p.m., power restoration for 21 customers was projected by midnight.

“Right now, cross our fingers, we hope that’s it for [Santee Fire responses for] the rest of the day,” Mattick said.