Siskiyou emergency officials issue, then lift, shelter-in-place after cement-plant dust plume in La Rica

Siskiyou County Director of Emergency Services Brian Shonadi said emergency officials issued an early-morning shelter-in-place warning after a cement plant near the county yard released a plume of cement dust across the La Rica area, briefly affecting a hospital and county behavioral-health facilities.

Shonadi told the Board of Supervisors that county emergency staff coordinated with local officials, Cal Fire, the sheriff’s office and the hospital. “We were able to push out a shelter in place warning, and that did affect the hospital, our county behavior health, and we were able to, get people settled down,” he said.

Shonadi said first responders evacuated the county yard adjacent to the plant and encouraged residents and staff in the affected area to shelter until winds pushed the cloud away. “We were able to get everybody sheltered in place until the wind was in our favor and pushed it out of the area,” he said.

Shonadi cited the plant’s material safety data sheet while describing immediate health risks: “Good news is the cement powder based off the MSDS can basically just be wiped up or rinsed off with water,” he said. He added that county staff and hospital partners were coordinating follow-up checks and that, based on those initial checks, no lasting hazardous conditions were identified.

Shonadi apologized for a personal health issue at the start of his remarks and said he would follow up with any outstanding operational details. He said county staff are continuing to investigate the incident and coordinate any necessary remediation or notifications.