Lucas Valley Road was closed Thursday morning in both directions east of Big Rock after a big rig overturned and spilled an estimated 1,500 gallons of yellow paint onto watershed property, authorities said.
That estimate was downgraded from the original 14,000 gallons that was originally reported by the Marin County Sheriff.
That's because while California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said 14,000 gallons of paint were on the truck, it appears as though only 1,500 gallons spilled. He is also unsure just how much went into a nearby creek, which is on George Lucas property.
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In a statement, the CHP said that 28-year-old Hugo Zavala-Berrera of Mendota was driving a 2008 freightliner truck and towing a trailer with eight 250 gallon containers of paint. He was trying to negotiate a tight, right turn on the road, west of West Gate Drive, when his trailer slipped, giving way to some paint containers falling into the ravine below.
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The NBC Bay Area chopper flew overhead showing the overturned rig, as well as the yellow paint splattered all over rocks and a creek bed.
Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin County Sheriff’s Office, Marin County Fire Department, Skywalker Fire Department, and Marin County Roads responded to the scene and began the recovery and cleanup of the hazardous materials. The trucking company, JL Freight Line LLC out of Fresno, asked Bayview Environmental Services to clean up.
The California Highway Patrol said there were no injuries, only a "big mess" to clean up.
The road was expected to reopen at 10 p.m. on Thursday. But then decided that crews should come back Friday to finish the job.
