Nobody seems to know what fell from sky in Harrison Twp
HARRISON TWP, Mich. (WJBK) - Some people in Harrison Township are still trying to solve the mystery of what coated their properties and who's going to clean it up.
It's still a mystery and it's still a mess. 'It' fell from the sky on Monday in Harrison Township and it landed on Paul Schlutow's truck
"We're not asking for much; just come over, tell us what it is, and clean up the mess," Schlutow told FOX 2's Amy Lange.
He's been waiting for days. Ever since he pulled up to his Harrison Township home and found what looked like tar all over his truck, driveway, and neighborhood.
"I thought it was bird droppings. Then when I started scraping the snow, I found all this other stuff, I took a closer look and then I said well, that's not bird, that's oil, that's... something," he said.
Whatever it is, it fell from the sky. More specifically, probably a plane since this is restricted airspace. Since they live just two miles from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, they have their suspicions. Harrison Township Fire came out but they don't know what it is either.
"It does not appear to be a fuel substance at all and so we did confirm that but it appears as though it came from an aircraft but we haven't confirmed that but we did turn it over to Selfridge to investigate," fire Chief Michael Lopez said.
Schluto said he has contacted Selfridge several times but he's not getting any answers and has only been told that it is a priority.
Selfridge has now released a statement saying their extensive review of their aircraft traffic shows no indication the substance came from a military aircraft of any type. See the full statement below.
On Wednesday the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality came out to get samples. So what did engineer Francisco Lim find? He doesn't know either.
"I wouldn't even hazard a guess because I don't want to mislead anybody so the best way is to collect samples, send it to the lab and they tell us what it is," Lim said.
Lim says it could be a week before they know what it is but the neighbors still want to wait it out of fears that it could be hazardous. So it remains on property in the neighborhood. Property of people who just want answers and want it cleaned up.
Statement from Selfridge:
On February 16, 2016, 127th Wing officials at Selfridge Air National Guard Base were contacted by a resident who lives about 1 ½ miles from the southern border of the base, concerned about a possible environmental issue. The resident expressed concern about an unknown substance found on and around his home in the area of Ballard Road & Jefferson Avenue in Harrison Township.
Out of an abundance of caution, the 127th Wing notified Harrison Township Fire Department and advised the resident to contact the fire department to ensure there was no immediate danger to health and safety.
The 127th Wing has also been in communication with the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality, which was sending a representative to the area in question to review the material.
The 127th Wing also conducted a diligent review of all aircraft traffic in and out of Selfridge in the four days leading up to and including February 15, when the resident stated he first noticed the substance.
Based on all of these reviews, there is no indication that the substance in question came from a military aircraft of any type.
The 127th Wing has been in communication with township, county and state authorities to ensure that every appropriate action is being taken to ensure the well-being of our neighbors.
"As Michigan's Hometown Air Force, we take being a good neighbor very serious," said Brig. Gen. John D. Slocum, commander of the 127th Wing and the Selfridge base commander. "We will continue to work with our local and state partner agencies to resolve this question."