Yaquina Riv. Spill; Yaquina River, OR

Yaquina River, OR | 2001-Jan-27

Initial Notification: A truck owned by Blue Line Transportation Company with two fuel trailers over turned while negotiating a curve on OR State HWY 20 at milepost 17.3 at 0200 January 27. The tractor rig and first trailer turned upside down, with the tractor rig catching fire. The driver of the truck died in the accident. A total of 8300 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil was on board the two insulated tanks at 130 degrees F. The first trailer containing 5000 gallons flipped upside down, releasing all but 300 - 400 gallons. The heated fuel ran into a ditch and over the road and down a steep embankment into the Yaquina River. The second smaller tank, containing approximately 3000 gallons of fuel, tipped over on its side before slamming into the hillside and spilling roughly 1000 gallons of fuel. Once the fire was put out, containment boom was deployed at the point where the oil entered the water. By the end of the first day, 2000 feet of boom had been deployed at 5 different locations between the accident site and Elk City Park to contain and collect the spilled oil. Response contractors reported that they had recovered 2200 gallons. USCG district 13.