WOOD RIVER, Ill. — Businesses in Wood River, Illinois, are happy to reopen after calling Thursday’s shelter-in-place an “inconvenience.”
“It's a loss of revenue, of course, and it's also a headache,” said Lisa Doyle of Chico’s Neighborhood Bar. “You have to notify everyone, worry about deliveries coming in, rescheduling a lot of things.
“In the scheme of things, it could be much worse. The building is still standing, everyone is alive. We are good."
A few buildings down is King Louie's Drive-In.
"Yes, I lost a whole days’ worth of income,” owner Chrissy Odell said. “But it is what it is, life goes on. It's not worth the risk."
The cause for concern started Wednesday when a rail car containing spent sulfuric acid became pressurized and started venting.
Multiple businesses in the Wood River area credit law enforcement and cleanup crews for keeping them safe and informed during the process.