Gasoline found in WW hotel basement had potential to explode
By Dan Thesman on Thursday, January 18th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – An official with the Washington State Department of Ecology said that on September 14, 2023, the day gasoline was discovered in the subbasement of the Marcus Whitman Hotel and Conference Center, it had the potential for an explosion.
Ecology’s Eastern Washington Response Unit Supervisor Sam Hunn said at the time that the gasoline leak was discovered and the hotel was evacuated, the Walla Walla Fire Department’s lower explosive limit readings were up to 93 percent and that 10 percent is considered to be an action level.
Now that the affected properties have been ventilated, the situation has moved from an emergency to a cleanup phase.
Nick Acklam with Ecology’s toxic cleanup program said the next step involves collecting more information to determine the concentration of the gasoline contamination in the area. The source of the leak was the Rose Street Chevron and Acklam said those tanks will probably be removed in March or April.
