OAKRIDGE-- Hwy. 58 will remain closed indefinitely while officials assess the damage caused by a fuel spill that resulted from a double semi tanker trailer crash at 8:45 a.m. There were no serious injuries in the crash.
Officials are estimating that over 4,000 gallons of gas and diesel may have spilled in to the ditch on the side of the road. The Eugene Fire Department hazmat team and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality are on the scene assessing the spread of the fuel and determining how it will be cleaned up. Officials are also monitoring the vapor caused by the fuels.
Most of the fuel appears to have been contained in a large ditch on the side of the road. However, officials are still determining how far the leak may have spread. The crash site is about 700 feet from the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. As a precaution, the Lane County Sheriff's Department is setting up a boom next to the river.
The front tank on the truck appears to be intact, while the rear tank was ruptured leaking the fuel. An off-loading pump truck is on its way from Albany to remove the fuel from the front tank. During the removal of the fuel, authorities will need to evacuate 24 home sites that are within 1,000 feet for safety purposes.
Also at the scene are Oregon Department of Transportation crews and officials, and the Oregon State Police. The Army Corp of Engineers and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have been notified of the fuel spill.
Motorists should avoid OR 58 and consider an alternative route.
