Oil train derails in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge

A train carrying cars full of oil headed for Tacoma derailed Friday in Oregon’s scenic Columbia River Gorge, sparking a fire that sent a plume of black smoke high into the sky.

Key Developments:

• 11 oil train cars in Oregon derailed near Mosier
• One was still on fire as of 3 p.m.
• It was on the way to Tacoma
• Eight cars involved, one still burning
• No reports of injuries, but area-hospital prepared to receive patients
• Schools evacuated
• ODOT closed I-84 WB
• No reports of oil entering the Columbia River

BREAKING: I-84 shut down because of train detrainment. https://t.co/ESCr6jTqPF (Photos: Silas Bleakley). #KOIN6News pic.twitter.com/bkYUSNi3U7

— Brent Weisberg (@BrentKOIN) June 3, 2016

#breakingnews You can see the plum of smoke from the train derailment for miles in the gorge https://t.co/UyVu82pSHM pic.twitter.com/CpzELcUc72

— Dan Tilkin (@DanTilkinKOIN6) June 3, 2016

A Union Pacific spokesman says that a derailment that caused a fire in Oregon’s scenic Columbia River Gorge caused an oil leak.

Aaron Hunt said Friday that 11 cars in the 96-car train derailed around noon near Mosier, about 70 miles east of Portland.

There were no fatalities or injuries.

The train was hauling oil from Eastport, Idaho, and was headed for Tacoma, Washington. It was carrying Bakken crude oil, a type of oil known to be highly volatile.

Witnesses see large plume of smoke for miles

According to witnesses, smoke and flames can be seen in downtown Mosier near the Rock Creek overpass.

BREAKING: this is a better look at the part of I-84 that ODOT has shut down due to train derailment. #KOIN6Newspic.twitter.com/W4cbAuSLS0

— Jennifer Hoff (@JennHoffKOIN6) June 3, 2016

Silas Bleakley was working at his restaurant in Mosier when the train derailed.

“You could feel it through the ground. It was more of a feeling than a noise,” he told The Associated Press as smoke billowed from the tankers.

Bleakley said he went outside, saw the smoke and got in his truck and drove about 2,000 feet to a bridge that crosses the railroad tracks.

Traffic congestion and evacuations after derailment 

About 200 students were evacuated from an elementary and middle school near the scene.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has closed I-84 between Cascade Locks and The Dalles. Traffic should detour to Washington SR 14.

Environmentalists reacted quickly to the accident and called it a reminder of why oil should not be transported by rail.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee released the following statement:

“Today’s derailment of a train carrying Bakken crude oil in the Columbia River Gorge is yet another reminder of the risks and concerns of crude-by-rail transport in our region. I join Gov. Brown in commending the swift response from Oregon’s public safety and transportation officials,” Inslee wrote.

“There are no reports of oil entering the Columbia River, and fortunately no reports of injuries. Along with the Department of Ecology and the Utilities and Transportation Commission, I will continue to monitor the situation and provide support to Gov. Brown in whatever way we can.”

Matt Lehner, a spokesman from the Federal Railroad Administration, said a team of investigators was headed to the scene from Vancouver, Washington.

Could this happen in the Puget Sound area? 

“These things are ticking time bombs and yet again a bomb has gone off,” said Eric de Place, policy director for the Seattle-based Sightline institute, an environmental think tank.

De Place researches the risk of oil trains.

“It could easily have happened in Seattle. We have the same trains coming through every day, the exact same kind of oil, the exact same kind of oil cars.”

A empty tanker train derailed at the Port of Tacoma, with 18 cars off the tracks, in April.