Alva Review-Courier -

Police and fire department personnel and vehicles converged on the Ranger Mart convenience store in Alva Wednesday morning about the time people were driving to work. Several hundred gallons of gasoline had been spilled.

A delivery driver was filling an underground tank from his truck when the hose split and gasoline was running everywhere. City emergency responders closed off the store parking lot and also closed down the intersection of Noble Street with Oklahoma Boulevard on both the north and south sides. Traffic continued to flow on Oklahoma Boulevard (US-64) but local drivers on Noble had to find other ways to access the highway.

Ranger Mart had to close for the day, but was able to reopen on Thursday while the smell of gasoline lingers in the parking area. Noble Street to the south of Oklahoma Boulevard is also open. However, the north intersection of Noble remains closed as abatement of the hazard continues. The closed area extends from the highway north to just short of the Crenshaw's Greenhouse driveway.

City Business Manager Steve Ford said work continues digging out dirt where the flow of gasoline followed storm drains under the highway. A crew is expected next week to finish cleaning out the poly-carbons in the storm drains. Ford said a piece of equipment that looks like a street sweeper was used to clear the pavement at the convenience store. Instead of water, it sprays foam that sucks up the contamination and is then removed.