Spill of Unknown Substance Prompts Evacuation in Palm Desert

A scare over what was thought to be a spilled hazardous substance inside a warehouse at a Palm Desert business prompted the entire building to be evacuated today.

The spill was reported at 10:19 a.m. in a commercial building in the 77600 block of Country Club Drive, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The fire department's hazardous materials unit determined the substance was not toxic, a fire official said.

Additional information about the nature of the material was unclear, though the fire department said two to three gallons of it spilled.

The commercial building was evacuated before firefighters arrived on scene, authorities said.

No injuries were reported. The investigation was turned over to the city of Palm Desert.