Crashed tanker fire contaminates wetland

Crashed tanker fire contaminates wetland

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Story Published: Jun 9, 2007 at 9:10 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jun 10, 2007 at 1:08 PM PDT

By Matt Markovich

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GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY - A fiery crash of a track trailer rig carrying gasoline and diesel closed State Route-8 for several hours early Saturday morning, according to the Washington State Patrol. The twin tanker crashed near milepost 10, just east of McCleary at the Grey's Harbor County and Thurston County line.

Troopers said driver was heading west toward Aberdeen when he veered off the road to the right. State troopers said the driver then over-corrected to the left.

"It looks like the trailer, when it left the roadway to the right had flipped onto its side and continued down the roadway," said Trooper Brian George.

With the rear trailer skidding on its side, the entire rig crashed into a culvert in the median and burst into flames.

The driver escaped without injuries. The truck, which is owned by Pettit Oil, was hauling 7,000 gallons of gasoline and 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

The flames were so hot that they melted melted the truck and its trailer. Crews from the McCleary Volunteer Fire Department managed to keep the flames from melting the road.

Unfortunately, the flaming gas flowed through a culvert underneath the eastbound lanes and into a wetland that feeds Mox Chehalis Creek, a seasonal habitat for Cutthroat trout.

Pettit Oil hired a contract cleanup crew from NRC Environmental to start the nasty job of skimming the gas and oil mix from a waterway beside the highway. State ecologists believe most of the contamination can be cleaned up, but not all.

"One problem with this type of product, it also dissolves into the water column so the booms and the absorbent materials won't collect that," said Bob Warren with Washington State Department of Ecology.

It's been a bad week for Pettit Oil, the owners of the truck. On Tuesday, an SUV crossed into the path of another Pettit Oil tanker truck near Brinnon in Jefferson County, killing the SUV driver. That truck was loaded with 11,00o of gasoline, but did not catch fire.

State troopers are still investigating the cause of the crash.

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