Costco Evacuated When Truck Loaded With Chlorine Catches Fire

SIGNAL HILLS, CA — A Costco shopping center in Signal Hills was evacuated Friday afternoon when a U-Haul truck carrying about 600 pounds of chlorine powder caught fire in the parking lot.

Fire officials continued to monitor the surrounding air and water run-off Friday evening for harmful particles that may have been released in the fire.

Los Angeles County Fire Department crews were dispatched about 1:55 p.m. to the 2200 block of East Willow Street. They evacuated the store as a precautionary measure and closed off the area. The cause of the truck fire remains under investigation.

"Now that we have achieved knockdown of the fire, we continue to monitor the surrounding air and subsequent water run-off," the fire department reported in a tweet about 4:30 p.m. that said no harmful levels were detected and no injuries were reported.

"Throughout the incident, we have monitored the air in the parking lot and surrounding areas. We have detected no harmful particles other than the ordinary products of combustion. The white smoke seen earlier was the result of packaging materials in the vehicle burning only."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.