Authorities in Peoria, Illinois, lifted a 24-hour evacuation order on Saturday afternoon after hazardous materials teams finished inspecting the industrial complex where an explosive device was discovered.
The emergency began after a suspicious package was found at the BioUrja Renewables plant on the afternoon of Friday, November 13. Law enforcement officials determined the item was a real explosive device rather than a hoax, prompting an extensive evacuation across a 1-mile radius in the central Illinois city of roughly 110,000 residents.
“We found a credible package there that was deemed a threat… We are not considering this to be a hoax,” said Brad Dixon, police chief of Peoria.
More than 5,000 residents and workers living and working near the facility were forced to leave their homes and businesses. Officials opened temporary shelters at Manual Academy in Peoria and EastSide Centre in neighboring East Peoria.
The multi-story BioUrja facility sits along the Illinois River and spans an area larger than 44 football fields according to police statements. Because the plant produces ethanol and contains highly combustible chemical substances, local emergency management established a wide perimeter to protect the public from a potential blast zone.
Captain Brandy Parker, commander of the Coast Guard’s Upper Mississippi sector, reported that the United States Coast Guard established a safety zone restricting vessel traffic on the Illinois River near the plant.
Federal lawmaker Eric Sorensen, a Democrat representing Illinois, traveled to the Peoria Manual High School site which was utilized as a shelter for individuals displaced by the evacuation order.
Authorities said they disabled a suspicious device at an ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois, after a threat triggered wide evacuations around the facility Friday that continued into Saturday morning. https://t.co/sP8VmMknEH
Rita Ali spoke with CNN’s Jessica Dean on Saturday evening, stating, “Over the past two days, we have lived through a true Friday the 13th nightmare.”
Mayor Ali also detailed that the facility was originally constructed during the 1930s as a factory for alcohol production and currently manufactures fuel ethanol and alcohol.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, situated near the affected perimeter, announced that it implemented all appropriate safety precautions and monitored ongoing developments to protect patients and staff members.
“BioUrja is a plant that has ethanol and very combustible chemicals. That is what alarms us,” said Rita Ali, mayor of Peoria.
Specialized explosive ordnance technicians neutralized the initial device at approximately 9:12 p.m. on Friday. State police assisted local officers by closing access ramps along Interstate 74, while the Coast Guard restricted commercial and recreational vessel traffic on the river.
The Peoria Civic Center cancelled a scheduled concert by country music singer Jon Pardi after authorities ordered an evacuation following the discovery of a bomb at an ethanol plant.
Federal law enforcement joined municipal and state agencies to search the entire industrial complex for additional threats throughout the night and into Saturday morning.
Chris Amon, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) office in Chicago, confirmed that investigators continue searching for the individual or individuals responsible for the criminal act, adding that there is no known connection to terrorism.
“We will work tirelessly to identify the responsible person and bring them to justice,” said Ryan Presley, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Springfield.
Governor J.B.
By 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, bomb squads and investigators concluded their sweeps of the sprawling property without locating any further suspicious packages. Authorities subsequently lifted the evacuation orders, reopened closed roadways, and restored commercial river navigation.