Kandiyohi County Commissioners got an update on the county's response to last Thursday's train derailment and fire in the western Minnesota town of Raymond.
Emergency Management Director Stephanie Felt says they're constantly preparing for these types of events. She says the evacuation started with notifying residents via cell phone alerts in the middle of the night.
“So really it was ‘train derailment, evacuate to Prinsburg’. What we really want to say is ‘get your medicine, get your pet and their supplies, yes you can put some pants on if you don’t want to go in your pajamas,'” says Felt. “But we can’t really do all that. We’re so limited in the characters.”
Felt says roughly 125 people ended up in the emergency shelter at the high school, while others went to nearby towns. A federal investigation of the derailment and what caused it is still underway.
“In one of the articles, an evacuee at the shelter, was quoted as saying ‘it’s almost like this was planned,’” says Felt. “And I thought, that’s because it was. We did plan for that. Every situation is different but as long as you have good relationships with the response agencies, and we’re all kind of on the same page, that’s what it takes.”
In total 22 cars on the Burlington Northern Sante Fe train derailed. BNSF said Thursday morning that the train was hauling ethanol and corn syrup. 10 of the cars contained ethanol.
Law enforcement and EMS established an evacuation area of a half-mile around the crash site. There were no injuries reported.
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