ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — Approximately 17,000 people were in the evacuation zone tonight, with others under shelter-in-place orders following a significant chemical fire at nearby Biolab.
Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco went out Irwin Bridge Road on Sunday night where people trying to evacuate faced extensive roadblocks and detours miles outside the containment zone.
She watched as one person sped past a barricade, prompting a deputy to chase him down, flip on the sirens, and make him return.
Around the perimeter of the evacuation zone, some people attempted to leave while others aimed to shelter in their homes just beyond the barricades.
“It’s a lot going on right now,” one driver said.
Pretti Brown, stuck at the Irwin Bridge Road closure, said, “I need to get a mask, you know what I mean, to keep us safe, and it’s just not helping.”
The intersection is about 4.5 miles from Biolab. Before dark, Francisco also met Macie Corley, who was worried about her grandmother’s health.
RELATED STORIES:
- ROCKDALE COUNTY CHEMICAL FIRE: I-20 closed, 17,000 in evacuation zone, residents to shelter in place
- Rockdale County Chemical Fire: Business owners shut down over fire. ‘I don’t want to inhale it’
- Rockdale County Chemical Fire: County and School closings for Monday
- PHOTOS: Rockdale County chemical plant burns for hours
- Rockdale County chemical fire: Newton Co. Schools closed Monday due to potential Biolab impact
“She has some health concerns, just a little bit, yeah,” Corley said.
Neighbors expressed frustration over the lack of information on what they were breathing and its side effects.
“I feel like it’s unfair because we’re the people being affected by it, not whoever is putting out the information,” Corley added.
Drivers also wanted more answers.
“No info from cop to cop. Don’t hold up traffic, keep going, and I have no idea where I’m going,” Brown said.
Francisco witnessed semi-trucks navigating the county road turns and spoke to people begging deputies for access to pets, children, and home health patients.
“It’s been a nightmare. It’s taken me three hours, and I’m still not there yet, and my GPS is saying another about 45 minutes,” Brown said.
Francisco said she saw deputies with lights and sirens escorting two inmate transport vans and is waiting to hear from Rockdale County officials about whether the county jail, located on the edge of the containment zone, was evacuated.
RELATED STORIES:
This browser does not support the video element.