A fire was sparked by the derailment of a freight train hauling ethanol through rural northwest Iowa.
The fire caused an enormous explosion and fire fighters couldn’t get near the scene for more than half an hour.
‘There was a pretty big explosion about 45 minutes ago’ at the site of the fire, Iowa Department of Natural Resources field office supervisor Ken Hessenius said: ‘No one can get within about a third of a mile of the fire yet. It’s still pretty dangerous there.’
The train derailed and burst into flames around 1 a.m. Friday as it crossed a trestle bridge over Jack Creek that empties into the Des Moines River.
It happened near the small community of Graettinger, about 160 miles northwest of Des Moines.
Two train crew members escaped unharmed and no injuries have been reported.
Officials expected the fire to burn out by Saturday, allowing investigators and railroad crews to better assess the damage and clean up the area, Hessenius said.
He also said it did not appear any significant amounts of ethanol had spilled into the creek after staff from his agency checked downstream.
A water sample from the creek hadn’t yet been lab tested, but Hessenius said the water appeared uncontaminated after ‘a smell test’.
Officials asked residents of three homes – each at least a half-mile from the derailment – to evacuate, the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office said.
Those residents were allowed to return home Friday afternoon after officials determined the fire did not pose a risk to them, the sheriff’s office said.
Palo Alto County emergency management director Mark Hunefeld said at least 27 of 101 cars derailed.
Railroad personnel were able to unhitch 74 loaded tankers and move them away from the site. Each tanker carries about 25,000 gallons.
NTSB said initial reports indicated the rail cars that derailed Friday are older, less sturdy tanks.
Crews work at the scene of a train derailment Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Providence, R.I., where a tank car carrying several thousand gallons of ethanol left the tracks and ended up on an adjacent roadway (Picture: AP/Matt O’Brien)
The government has ordered that such tanks be either retrofitted to higher standards or taken out of commission by 2029. The rail tanker standards were changed in 2015.
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