Friday, Oct. 11, 2002 | 10:08 a.m.
A tanker truck carrying thousands of gallons of gasoline flared into a fireball northeast of Las Vegas about 7:45 p.m. Thursday, closing Interstate 15 to traffic in both directions for five hours.
The driver escaped from the burning truck after two tires blew out on his rig about 45 miles northeast of Las Vegas as it headed for Utah, troopers at the scene said.
The Nevada Highway Patrol was investigating why one of the two tankers caught fire and sent flames 50 feet into the air at times. Clark County firefighters and volunteers from Logandale and Moapa Valley responded to the site.
The second tanker containing almost 7,000 gallons of gasoline remained intact.
Truckers and motorists were stopped one mile on either side of the fiery tanker for safety, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Olschlager said.
Traffic then backed up for 20 miles, troopers at the scene said.
About 10 miles south of the accident, northbound traffic was diverted to U.S. 93 and routed through the town of Glendale.
Traffic began moving slowly on the interstate about 2 a.m. today.
"The best thing to do is let it burn, because if you put water on the fire, all you have is a load of contaminated gasoline," Clark County Fire Dept. spokesman Bob Leinbach said.
Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Michael McKenna, a hazardous materials technician, said allowing the 3,600 gallons of fuel to burn from the tanker was best for the environment.
The tank is designed not to explode, McKenna said. Instead, the gasoline burns off.
"From an environmental impact, this is the best thing," McKenna said, noting the gasoline would burn away. Light winds blew north along the highway, dispersing fumes, he noted. There were no nearby residents or businesses.
Firefighters do not use water on gasoline tanker fires after a similar blaze in Norfolk, Va. about 10 years ago, McKenna said. The water mixed with spilled gasoline, got into the city's sewer and someone threw a cigarette into a storm drain. "There were sewer lids popping up all over town," he said.
Shortly after midnight firefighters began to smother the tanker in foam. The foam robs the dying fire of oxygen.
The other tanker, which was riding 17 feet behind the burning one, is expected to be removed from the scene today.
archive
