Confusion surrounds evacuation

Some Great Falls residents mistakenly told to leave homes

By LISA MICHALS

lmichals@thestate.com

GREAT FALLS — With a mill fire that spewed toxic fumes almost under control, officials today will consider whether about 1,000 residents can return home after being evacuated Tuesday.

Tests Saturday afternoon showed that air quality in the mill’s surrounding neighborhoods had returned to normal levels, said Thom Berry, spokesman for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

“There is still a fire in that building, and because of that fact, we don’t want to tell people it’s safe to go back home and tell them 45 minutes later they have to get out again because the wind might have shifted or the fire might have flared up again,” Berry said.

The fire diminished Saturday, but residents’ emotions sparked instead.

The American Red Cross turned away evacuees seeking financial assistance because the agency received more requests than it could process in a single day.

Residents of two streets learned they were mistakenly evacuated from their homes by a reverse-911 call, when their homes were not in danger from toxic fumes.

After the fire started Tuesday morning, officials evacuated about half of Great Falls’ 2,000 residents because of health risks from burning hydrochloric acid at the mill site. Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency Thursday.

Kenya Crosby was evacuated from her home on Washington Street in Great Falls around 1:30 a.m. as toxic smoke poured from the former J.P. Stevens mill. She learned Saturday the evacuation of her street was a mistake, but was apprehensive about returning home.

“They didn’t check the air, but they said I can go back,” Crosby said.

Later Saturday afternoon, test results confirmed that Crosby’s street was safe, Berry said.

Meanwhile, Great Falls Mayor H.C. Starnes said he never got word of the evacuation Tuesday night and spent the night in his home, which is within the evacuation zone.

A friend called Wednesday and asked Starnes why he was answering the phone since he should have evacuated.

U.S. Rep. John Spratt toured the area Saturday and pledged to search for federal funding to offset the cleanup costs.

Officials said firefighters made significant progress fighting the fire Friday night, when two Black Hawk helicopters continued to drop 650-gallon loads of water and fire retardant on the mill.

“Two days ago at this time, we had a steady burning fire. If you look now, it’s just a haze,” said Eddie Murphy, Chester County emergency management director.

About 500 people had registered at the American Red Cross shelter at Great Falls High School and Middle School. But only about 15 or 20 people have been staying there overnight despite a capacity of 200.

Many evacuees said they’d rented motel and hotel rooms in nearby towns because they heard that the shelter was full.

Lee Squirewell, who was evacuated and staying in a Richburg Econo Lodge for $45.95 per night, said she avoided the shelter because she’d heard that 850 people were already there.

Squirewell said she arrived at the shelter at 8:30 a.m. Saturday to line up to receive financial assistance but was told to return today because the Red Cross was overwhelmed helping about 200 people who requested financial aid even earlier in the morning.

Squirewell ran into friend and fellow evacuee Mary Johnson at the shelter. Stuck to Johnson’s shirt was a mailing label with the number “93” handwritten on it — meaning she would receive a financial-needs assessment Saturday.

Johnson wore plain polar fleece slippers because she didn’t have time to grab shoes when she was evacuated Tuesday. “It’s better than being barefoot,” she said.

During an information briefing for evacuees at the shelter Saturday, Great Falls native Eddie Morris, 50, worried about damage and cleanup at his and neighbors’ homes.

“There’s a residue all over my house, all over my property,” said Morris, who was escorted home by authorities briefly Saturday to pick up some belongings. “It’s very sticky.”

Authorities advised him that it could safely be cleaned up with soap and water.

The evacuation was frustrating for 67-year-old Nadine Rogers, too, who worried about her pets and was unable to get refills of her medications until Saturday.

John A. Tibbs, a partner in the company Square Feet, which owns the mill, said he’s had difficulty eating and sleeping since the blaze started.

“Everything that we had worked for and put into it has burned up,” said Tibbs, who explained that the company leased out mill space as warehouse space.

Tibbs said the cause of the fire was still unclear. “There was a sprinkler system in there, but how operative it was, I don’t know.”

Reach Michals at (803) 771-8532.