A chemcial leak in Myrtle Beach prompted a four block evacuation.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 9:08 p.m.

Fire crews have wrapped where a chemical leak lead to a four block evacuation in a Myrtle Beach neighborhood, and people are allowed back home.

The homes from 48th Avenue North to 52nd Avenue North between Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway were evacuated Tuesday night from about 8pm until 10pm.

Around 8pm, a Myrtle Beach Police officer spotted a plume of smoke coming from a house on Ocean Boulevard. When they got on scene, they sent the HAZMAT team in to check it out. They at first believed it could have been chlorine, but it turns out it was a pool clarifier, a chemical used in pools.

About a half pound of the chemical burned. Officials let it burn out. Because there was no wind but a lot of humidity, the plume stayed low to the ground creating concern, which prompted the precautionary door-to-door evacuation.

No injuries have been reported.

Tom Gwire with the Myrtle Beach Fire Department says there was no health risk, and the evacuation was a precaution.

Myrtle Beach Fire contacted the Department of Health and Environmental Control who advised them to allow that chemical to burn out and then clean it up.

Story from WPDE