A woman broke her ankle Thursday evening after slipping on hydraulic oil which had leaked from a cherry picker at a Maple Ridge mall.
The puncture happened around 3 p.m. while a man was power-washing the roof of Valley Fair Mall, outside Changes recycling depot, leaving him stranded in the bucket of the truck.
To lower the bucket, more oil had to be put into the ruptured hose. As cars drove over the spill, oil spread throughout the parking lot off 228th Street, while people walking over the oil, tracking it into the mall.
Pressure from the power washer burst a water main, which added to the mess.
The Maple Ridge Fire Department was called 40 minutes after the spill and closed the parking lot once on scene. Sand was spread over the spill to prevent oil from getting into storm water drains.
Fire chief Dane Spence estimates over half an acre (0.2 hectares) was contaminated.
“It’s a fairly substantial clean-up due to the spread,” said Valley Fair manager Nicole Archer.
“A company is on its way to clean it up in an environmentally-friendly way.”
