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Fire chief says Jan. 23 methane leak north of Wasco prompted county evacuation; council presses for clearer multilingual alerts
Summary
Kern County Fire Chief Appleton told the council a methane and hydrogen sulfide leak on Jan. 23 north of Wasco caused a well fire and a half‑mile county evacuation; councilmembers raised concerns about confusion in public messaging and lack of Spanish translations, and staff described ReadyKern and Genesys Protect as notification tools.
Kern County Fire Chief Appleton told the Wasco City Council on Feb. 3 that a Jan. 23 methane and hydrogen sulfide release north of the city produced a wellhead fire that required evacuation and hazmat response.
"We went out there and evacuated the area," Chief Appleton said, describing coordination with the sheriff's office, hazmat teams and the company that shut down the…
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