Chlorine leak sealed, Priest River evacuation ended

Downtown Priest River, Idaho, was evacuated for several hours Tuesday after a leak was discovered in a tank containing chlorine gas at the town’s water treatment plant. The leak was discovered about 4 p.m., after a chlorine alarm went off at the Priest River water filtration plant near the corner of Treat and Montgomery streets, said Police Chief Ray Roberts. Crews discovered the alarm was due to a leaky tank, and as a precaution residents and businesses within a half-mile of the plant were evacuated. Hazardous materials crews from Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene were called in to seal the tank, Roberts said. By 9 p.m. evacuees were allowed to return, and the tank was being loaded onto a truck back to a supply company in Washington.