Mystery drum found in Santa Rosa park creek

Four Santa Rosa firefighters in protective gear Monday afternoon pulled a large drum from a creek in Doyle Park to remedy what was an illegal, if not hazardous, dumping situation.

Whatever had been inside the 40-gallon drum had apparently leaked out through three small holes and was replaced by the flowing creek water, said Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa's assistant fire marshal, who was part of the response.

A 12:20 p.m. report of the drum in Matanzas Creek brought a full-scale hazardous materials response from the city. As many as 14 firefighters, including the hazmat team plus police officers went to the call, Lowenthal said.

Tests would be conducted to identify the original contents, Lowenthal said.

“We had to treat it as an unknown and potentially hazardous incident,” he said. “We have a history of people dumping hazardous materials because they don't want to pay for the disposal. But someone else ends up having to deal with it. The taxpayers are paying for it today.”

The creek borders a large area of the tree-filled, longstanding city park, which includes a baseball diamond, play equipment and picnic tables, and is used by homeless people as a daily refuge. The park is located in east Santa Rosa off Doyle Park Drive.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.