Hazmat situation in Huntington Beach forces brief evacuations

A hazmat situation in an industrial park in Huntington Beach forced evacuations of the immediate area on Wednesday, according to authorities.

The Huntington Beach Fire Department said an incident regarding hazardous materials was reported sometime before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 15200 block of News Boy Circle. The incident involved a 55-gallon drum located outside a business that accidentally had a chemical mixed inside.

Crews on the scene worked to determine what was inside the drum after it began to self-heat.

The immediate area was evacuated. It's unclear how many businesses were evacuated.

The incident was resolved by 12:30 p.m. No injuries or fires were reported.

In a statement, energy company TS Conductor said the incident took place at its Huntington beach facility, and it's investigating the root cause.

"Today, our team identified a 55-gallon drum at our Huntington Beach facility that appeared to be outgassing hydrogen. Our employees responded exactly as they are trained to do. The affected area was immediately secured, appropriate protective measures were implemented, and the Huntington Beach Fire Department and HazMat team were contacted to assess the situation," the company stated in a news release. 

The company said after emergency responders determined the area was safe, employees returned to work four hours after the initial response.

"Most importantly, there were no injuries, no impact to employee safety, and no environmental impact," TS Conductor wrote in a news release.