An anhydrous ammonia leak forced an evacuation and road closures in the area of Hampton after a backhoe struck a pipeline Thursday night, emergency officials said.
An Arkansas Gravel Co. backhoe struck the pipeline near the intersection of Calhoun County Road 26 and Calhoun County Road 146 about 7 p.m., LeTresha Woodruff, public information officer for the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, said late Thursday, according to reporting from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The leak was capped by about 10:30 p.m., she said.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) issued a notice at 9:25 p.m. Thursday that a nine-mile section of U.S. 278 was closed; the section of highway remained closed Friday morning, but reopened in the afternoon.
Those on the east side of Hampton were evacuated to Hampton High School and those on the west side were advised to shelter in place, keep their windows closed and not use outside air, per a Facebook post by the Ouachita County Sheriff's Office.
First responders from across the region assisted with the evacuation efforts.
"A couple of our guys from the (Criminal Apprehension Division) unit went out last night and helped them, but as far as I know, that's all we did," said Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts. " We reached out and never got a response from them, but a couple of guys went and helped evacuate... We've been assisting this morning. We helped them block off (Hwy.) 167 at the river bridge, keeping people from going to Hampton."
Arkansas State Police Spokesman Bill Sadler said one trooper was sent to the area to assist with traffic control and evacuation.
Dave Parker, ARDOT public information officer, also reported that two ARDOT employees were victims of a hit-and-run while setting up a road barricade Thursday evening. One employee was taken to Medical Center of South Arkansas in El Dorado with a broken leg, while the other was taken to Texarkana with leg and back injuries.
The Calhoun County Courthouse was closed out of caution Friday and several churches and community centers in Hampton, El Dorado and Camden were hosting displaced residents.
Friday morning, Calhoun County Sheriff Vernon Morris stated, "We've evacuated approximately 200 people... Right now we've got the area evacuated waiting for the pressure to go down. All the pipeline officials are on the way, or a lot of them are here; they're bringing in equipment to fix it."
Morris said some people evacuated to First Baptist Church in Hampton or the Fordyce Civic Center. Others went to Warren or Camden.
He said around 1 p.m. that all state highways have been reopened and that one county road was still closed.
The Calhoun County Sheriff's Department, in a post on its Facebook page, advised that evacuees could return home around 3:30 p.m. Friday.
According to the post, the pipeline was still under repair Friday afternoon, but the leaking gas had been contained.
"The Calhoun County Sheriff Office would like to thank all of the Fire departments, law enforcement agencies and any and all other agencies for all of their hard work, dedication and endless help during this time! We are forever grateful for all of the support that you all have shown us," the post said.