Eerie Fog Shrouds Toledo as Chemical Leak Grips City

Thick fog swallowed East Toledo on Wednesday morning, hours after a chemical leak in the north of the city forced about 1,000 people from their homes.

X user Terry Eckman filmed the scene on the morning of October 21. Streetlights glow through a grey wall of mist and the outlines of pine trees fade into the murk.

Toledo Fire & Rescue ordered an evacuation within a mile of 1266 Progress Avenue late on October 20 after glycidyl methacrylate leaked from a tank, then told everyone within three miles to shelter in place at 4:24 a.m. The chemical is an irritant that can burn the eyes, nose, mouth and skin.

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said the weather had also produced natural fog that morning, and city officials warned that residents could not tell the fog from the chemical plume just by looking. On Wednesday evening, the evacuation zone was cut to a half-mile radius and the shelter-in-place order was lifted.