12,000 GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL UP IN SMOKE IN DANIELS CANYON, UTAH WHEN A DOUBLE TANKER TRUCK ROLLED ON U.S. 40 FRIDAY NIGHT
The truck
driver drifted to the right of the road and couldn’t correct and ended up
rolling down the hill. At that point the tanker broke open.
February 7, 2015
HEBER
CITY, UTAH:
A double tanker truck rolled on U.S. 40 Friday night in Daniels Canyon,
spilling 12,000 gallons of crude oil and catching fire.
The driver of the tanker truck drifted off the right
side of the road and onto the soft shoulder about 9:45 p.m., Utah Highway
Patrol trooper Michael Phillips said. When the truck rolled into the hillside,
its second trailer jack-knifed, Phillips said.
The driver was not hurt and was able to get out of the
truck, the trooper said.
"The vehicle, being full of crude oil, ignited and
there was a big blaze," Phillips said. "The vehicle was a complete
loss."
The crash and fire closed the highway in both
directions about 4 miles east of Heber City for nearly 12 hours. Crews
continued to clean up the site Saturday, Phillips said.
"There is some damage to part of the roadway up
there as well," the trooper said.
Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Adan
Carrillo said only one lane of U.S. 40 will be open in Daniels Canyon this
weekend, due to road damage and the environmental cleanup effort. Eastbound and
westbound traffic will alternate through that single lane, Carrillo said.
UDOT plans to have one lane open in each direction on
Monday. Once the environmental cleanup is finished, UDOT will assess how best
to repair the damage to the road based on existing temperatures and weather
conditions, Carrillo said.
"We will definitely put (the road) back to the way
it was," he said, "but it could take some time."
//______________________________________________//
UPDATE
Fiery rollover crash of tanker truck in Utah. 1 lane reopens after oil spill and fire in Daniels Canyon in Utah closes road
WASATCH
COUNTY, Utah — One lane has reopened on Highway 40 after a portion of the road
was closed throughout the night after several thousand gallons of crude oil (as
much as 12,000 gallons of crude) spilled and caught fire during a semi-truck
rollover in Daniels Canyon Friday night.
At
approximately 9:45 p.m., fire crews were called to Highway 40 at mile marker 27
where they found the truck fully engulfed in flames and the fire moving up the
hillside, according to the Wasatch County Fire Department.
One
lane reopened Saturday morning. Traffic is alternating between that lane,
according to Utah Highway Patrol.
The
tanker was carrying 12,000 gallons of oil. Officials are unsure how much
spilled but all of the oil burned up in the fire.
About
10 acres were torched by the blaze, according to Utah Division of Natural
Resources.
UHP
arrived on scene to assist in keeping the highway closed.
The
driver was not injured in the crash.
UHP
Trooper Michael Phillips said the truck driver drifted to the right of the
road and couldn’t correct and ended up rolling down the hill. At that point the
tanker broke open.
The
Utah Department of Health along with Utah Department of Transportation arrived
on scene to assist with cleanup.
