Chemical fire slows traffic on Highway 99Sheyanne Romero sromero@visaliatimesdelta.com 10:05 p.m. PDT August 19, 2016
(Photo: File photo)
VISALIA, CA
Motorists heading north on Highway 99 encountered delays Thursday afternoon, when Visalia Fire Department’s hazardous material team was called out to investigate a semi truck carrying chemicals just north of Tipton.
A big rig traveling north on Highway 99 was flagged down by a motorist after he saw smoke coming off of the truck. When the driver of the big rig opened the back of the truck, he noticed smoke coming from several containers carrying chemicals, officials said.
He immediately closed the doors and contacted authorities. First responders arrived on scene and contacted Visalia Fire Department's Hazmat Unit. Hazmat arrived just after 4:30 p.m. to begin their investigation.
When the team entered the trailer they found several 55-gallon containers that had tipped over. The chemicals mixed together and caused a reaction which then caused a small fire inside the trailer.
Once the containers were separated and cooled off the driver of the truck was asked to contact a private hazmat crew.
A portion of the slow lane of northbound Highway 99 was closed near Avenue 184 as well as the northbound on-ramp. Traffic Management Center reported traffic was backed up to Avenue 152, three miles away from the city.
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HWY 99 semi truck fire slows traffic after fears of hazmat situation in Tulare County
Fire crews are still trying to figure out what exactly happened, but right now this is being treated as a vehicle fire involving a big rig. (KFSN)
Thursday, August 18, 2016 05:26PM
TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) -- Action News heard reports of a possible spill on Highway 99 and Avenue 184 in Tulare County but officials say this was not a spill. Fire crews are still trying to figure out what exactly happened, but right now this is being treated as a vehicle fire involving a big rig.
Visalia Fire Hazmat was called out and is currently looking into the situation.
The call for this vehicle fire came in at around 3:30 p.m. The California Highway Patrol said the driver of the big rig saw signs of smoke or fire in his truck. He was also nervous about some corrosive material in the truck
The California Highway Patrol said there has been no spill and right now, this is not considered a hazmat type situation.
Visalia Fire Hazmat will assess the situation with their technology and equipment to check for additional heat sources and what kind of hazardous materials, if any, are in the truck.