Downtown Parking Lot to Reopen Following Hazmat Scare

The Capistrano Dispatch

The parking lot behind Cedar Creek Inn and The Swallow’s Inn, off of Camino Capistrano and Ortega Highway, was closed for more than two and a half hours today due to a highway driver who pulled over feeling  sick after driving through an unidentified substance. That substance has since been identified as a bag of herbicide by a hazmat team.

Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz said authorities responded to a call around 2 p.m. today after a driver ran through the herbicide, started feeling sick and pulled over. The man refused to go to the hospital.

Kurtz said the herbicide produced a strong odor. Officials took a sample of the substance and used a hazardous categorization kit to determine what it was.

At 4:20 p.m., Kurtz said officials were trying to figure out what type of herbicide it is. He anticipates the parking lot will reopen soon.