TACOMA — Investigators say it could take days to determine what caused a propane tanker truck to explode, igniting a massive fireball that shut down a highway, cut power to thousands and injured four.
The initial explosion happened while a delivery truck loaded with about 8,000 gallons of propane exploded at Atlas Castings and Technology near the intersection of I-5 and Highway 16 around 3 p.m. Saturday, Washington State Patrol trooper Brady Kessler said.
The truck driver, identified as Charles McDonald, 64, remained in critical condition Sunday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Three men who were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma were treated for minor injuries and released.
An Atlas executive said the company had accounted for all 32 employees who were working at the plant on Saturday.
A large two-axle portion of the tanker truck blew more than 150 feet into the air and landed in flames on the Highway 16 overpass, along with parts of the truck cab and other debris, state Department of Transportation workers told The News Tribune in Tacoma. No cars were struck.
Authorities evacuated several blocks around the foundry and shut down a quarter-mile-long stretch of the Highway 16 overpass. The highway reopened early Sunday morning after transportation engineers inspected it and confirmed it was safe.
After the initial explosion, which witnesses reported hearing miles a way, fire spread to two nearby propane storage tanks, said Scott Brockelmeyer, a spokesman for Ferrellgas, the company that owns the propane in the tanks.
Firefighters poured thousands of gallons of water on two other propane tanks to cool them and keep them from exploding, too, said Jolene Davis, Tacoma’s deputy fire chief.
Fire crews monitored the burning tanks overnight. “The safest way to get rid of product after there’s been an explosion like this is to let it burn itself out,” Davis said.
It could take days for investigators to pinpoint exactly what caused the initial explosion, she added.
An electrical substation was damaged in the blast, knocking out electricity to about 13,000 Tacoma Power homes and businesses. Power was restored to all but about 200 customers within hours; those customers could remain without power for a while, said Chris Gleason, a spokeswoman for the utility.
The Federal Aviation Administration established a five-mile-perimeter no-fly zone around the foundry on Saturday. The restriction was lifted around 3 a.m. Sunday, after authorities determined the site no longer posed a safety threat to aircraft, FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said.
Zeph Drisk, an Atlas electrician, said he was about 100 feet from the initial blast. “Everything shook, then went black,” he told The News Tribune. “You couldn’t see nothing in front of your face. … I had to find a way out. I felt my way out until I saw some daylight.”
Other witnesses reported hearing the blast as far as 10 to 15 miles away in the cities of Kent, Orting and Sumner.
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