Overview
- The release began around 10 p.m. Wednesday from a tanker parked behind the Holiday Inn Express in Weatherford, sending an anhydrous ammonia cloud across the area.
- Hundreds were evacuated or sheltered, and the shelter‑in‑place order was lifted Thursday morning after air quality improved, according to local authorities.
- At least 36 people were transported for treatment, 11 were in serious to critical condition with four airlifted, and at least seven remained hospitalized Friday.
- The EPA says the tanker was carrying about 25,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia and attributes the release to a leaky gasket, with community air monitoring underway.
- Responders reported ammonia‑tainted suppression water entered a storm drain and affected a nearby creek; Airgas and multiple agencies, including the Oklahoma National Guard, are assisting, and no deaths have been reported.