The spillage of a hazardous agricultural fertilizer resulted in the closure of Hatch and Mitchell roads on Wednesday, April 6 during two separate times.

At 10:45 a.m. Ceres Police Department was notified that an agricultural company was pulling a trailer loaded with fertilizer southbound on Mitchell Road when it began to leak along the #2 lane. The driver turned right onto Angie Avenue and then pulled into the rear of Sabaidee Restaurant on Hatch Road. Police estimated that about 500 gallons of the material had spilled onto Ceres roadways, prompting the closure of southbound Mitchell Road at Finch Road and also westbound Hatch Road west of Mitchell Road. Ceres police and fire responded along with the County Department of Environmental Resources to soak up the substance. The company responsible for the spillage paid for a street sweeper contractor to clean up the material, said Ceres Police Department spokesman Lt. Chris Perry. The roads were closed until about 2:30 p.m.

Later that evening several motorists reported sliding on the road surface - probably because the humidity brought it to the surface - and police closed the roadways again at 7:30 p.m. Police called the clean-up company which came out again to remedy the problem. The roads weren't reopened until about 1 a.m. Thursday, said Lt. Perry.