Ore. firefighters extinguish train derail blaze
Published 12:01 am Thursday, May 5, 2011
PORTLAND, Ore. — Fire crews in Oregon have extinguished a massive fire touched off in a train derailment that ignited several tanker cars full of ethanol.
A stretch of U.S. Highway 30 northwest of Portland has been closed for several hours and fire officials said a half-mile area around the blaze was temporarily evacuated Wednesday afternoon.
Portland Fire Department spokesman Paul Corah says two freight trains were involved — one carrying mainly logs and the other a 20-car train that included 12 tanker cars of ethanol.
Corah says two tanker cars — each carrying 28,000 gallons of ethanol — caught fire, as did a freight car from the log train.
