DALLAS, N.C. — A lard-like, slippery substance identified as cooking oil spilled along several miles of Gaston County roads Monday, county officials advised.
During the overnight hours early Monday, the cooking oil spilled near High Shoals, which is near the county line between Lincoln and Gaston counties. More than 500 gallons of oil spilled, according to a Gaston County official.
The oil traveled down Hardin Road onto U.S. 321, which is a busy north-sound corridor between Interstate 40 and Interstate 85. The official said it congealed into a "lard-like substance" as it pooled near the intersection of U.S. 321 and North Chester Street in Gastonia.
"This type of cleanup isn’t like a diesel fuel where it will eventually evaporate,” Scott Hunter, the senior director of the county's Emergency Management and Fire Services, said in a released statement. “We’re asking residents using this road to be aware that the road will be slick and any rapid acceleration or deceleration may result in a vehicle fishtailing."
Cleanup crews worked beginning at 3:30 a.m. to cover the affected areas with sand. The North Gaston Fire Department, Dallas Fire Department, Gastonia Fire Department, Gaston County Police Department and North Carolina Department of Transportation responded to help with the cleanup.
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