(NewsNation Now) — A Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire in Whatcom County, north of Seattle on Tuesday, authorities said.
The derailment happened in the downtown Custer area, where nearby streets were closed and evacuations ordered during a large fire response, Whatcom County officials said on Twitter.
According to Whatcom County officials, 7 railway cars derailed from a BNSF train around 11:40 a.m. local time. The fire started in 2 of the 7 derailed cars. As of 3 p.m. local time, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office reported the fire is under control and a 3/4 mile evacuation zone was established and will remain in effect.
Sheriff Bill Elfo told The Seattle Times he doesn’t believe anyone had been injured.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Heather Axtman said that all residents and visitors within a half-mile of the derailment needed to evacuate. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said at 1:15 p.m. local time that officials were the process of evacuating people.
“BNSF is working with local authorities to assess and mitigate the situation,” the railway said on Twitter. “The cause of the incident is under investigation. Our first priority is dealing with any safety issues.”
Jenny Reich, who owns Whimsy Art Glass, was preparing to open her shop and told the Times that while she is accustomed to train noises, “all of a sudden it was a really big noise, and everything was shaking.”
A plume of black smoke obscured her view, emergency personnel arrived, and Reich said she was advised to evacuate her business. She grabbed her wallet, keys and dog and hit the road.
Home to five oil refineries, Washington state sees millions of gallons of crude oil move by rail through the state each week, coming from North Dakota and Alberta, Canada, according to the state Department of Ecology.
The state Department of Ecology said a command center had been set up at the scene with the railway and federal Environmental Protection Agency officials.
State traffic cameras showed a large black smoke plume. Interstate 5 was temporarily closed in the area in both directions.
(Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)
Matt Krogh, director of U.S. Oil & Gas Campaigns for the environmental group Stand.earth, is based in Bellingham near the derailment and told The Associated Press he could see the smoke. He said the incident was another example of how transporting crude oil by train – especially in large numbers of tankers — is “very, very dangerous.”
He cited the 2013 fiery derailment of a train carrying crude in Lac Megantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people, and a 2016 derailment in Mosier, Oregon, along the Columbia River that caused people to evacuate.
Krogh said crude oil is volatile and there are often track maintenance concerns. Among other things, Krogh and his group would like to see a reduction in the number of tank cars allowed per shipment.
“I think we got lucky today,” he said, referring to the derailment in Custer.
Custer, a small town of several hundred people, is about 100 miles north of Seattle.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
