Lost Lands Responds to Safety Concerns After Train Derailment in Ohio

“Even though Lost Lands is more than 7 months away, this situation is being taken seriously by our teams.”

Earlier this month, tragedy struck Ohio as a freight train carrying vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine. This led to emergency crews from the area and surrounding states mobilizing to begin cleaning up the damage while residents of the area were evacuated. After the initial fire from the wreckage stopped burning, those crews conducted a controlled burn of the vinyl chloride from the spill that resulted in hydrogen chloride and phosgene entering the atmosphere.

Reports from residents and those in the area flooded social media with stories of sick individuals and dead pets and wildlife, even as the evacuation orders were lifted and many were urged to return home. While the air both inside and outside of the evacuation zone had been deemed safe by the EPA, many have questioned the long-term impact of this disaster – including those who would be making the trek to festivals like Lost Lands and Secret Dreams later on this year.

Subtronics, who was set to play in Cleveland on February 15, canceled his show as a safety precaution for him and his team. Tonight, Lost Lands responded to those same concerns from attendees and others in the scene by releasing a statement regarding the disaster in East Palestine. They shared their deepest sympathies with residents of the area who have been affected and plan to help with donation relief for those who were forced to evacuate before explaining that they are monitoring the situation.

“In our region, the winds predominately blow toward the northeast, so Licking County and Legend Valley have avoided fumes from the incident,” the Lost Lands Team explained in their statement. “Additionally, Legend Valley’s water is not sourced from the Ohio River, or where the incident occurred. We will continue to monitor Legend Valley’s environmental safety year-round.”

Stay tuned for more updates on Lost Lands as this is a developing story.

Read the full statement from Lost Lands:

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— Lost Lands Festival (@lost_lands) February 16, 2023

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