Police in Peoria, Illinois, have lifted the evacuation order imposed after a bomb was found at an ethanol plant, allowing more than 5,000 residents and workers to return home after a search found no further devices.
The evacuation zone was lifted early on Saturday afternoon, about 24 hours after the device was discovered at the BioUrja Renewables facility, Reuters reported. Peoria police said in a statement that nothing "of concern" was found and the evacuation notice no longer had effect.
The device was found on Friday afternoon at the plant, which produces ethanol and other highly flammable chemicals. Bomb technicians rendered it safe, but officials ordered everyone within a one-mile radius to leave, warning of a potential blast radius based not only on the device itself but on the materials stored nearby, Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said.
More than 5,000 residents and workers were evacuated as a precaution, officials said. Shelters were opened at Manual Academy High School in Peoria and the EastSide Centre sports complex in East Peoria, where part of the evacuation zone also fell.
Law enforcement personnel spent Saturday searching the sprawling facility, which covers more than 44 football fields and has several floors, Dixon said. By the afternoon the search was complete, closed streets were reopened and residents were told they were free to return to their homes.
No injuries were reported and no arrests had been made as of Saturday afternoon. The FBI is investigating the case, with agents from its Springfield field office involved, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also taking part. Officials are still searching for whoever was responsible.
The owner of the plant, the BioUrja Group of Houston, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. Peoria, a city of about 110,000 people, sits about 150 miles southwest of Chicago along the Illinois River.
