The fire resulting from a propane tanker crash on Route 14 early Monday has continued to burn through Tuesday morning and may do so for several days, according to the Irasburg Fire Department.
On Monday morning, just before 7 a.m., the tanker went off a Vermont Route 14 bridge over the Black River in Irasburg and caught on fire, according to Vermont State Police. No injuries were reported.
State police said that an inspection of the fire conducted by drone late Monday afternoon indicated that the vehicle’s propane tank had been punctured, which eased concerns that the fire would eventually result in a catastrophic explosion. Following that development, State police said they expected the fire to continue until the propane tank had exhausted its contents.
By Tuesday afternoon, the fire was still burning and had the potential to continue for several more days, according to Robin Beaton, Irasburg’s fire chief, who said that the department has been working to manage the fire.
“We’re going to try something new today, but we’ll probably be here for three or four more days,” Beaton said. “We’re going to try to attack it from a lot closer.”
The Vermont HAZMAT Team was activated for the incident and is assisting the Irasburg fire department. The team is also collecting data on pollution in the river downstream from the incident, according to Patrick McLaughlin, chief of the Vermont HAZMAT Team.
“Most of the propane is releasing as a vapor into the atmosphere,” he said. “There are some oils and diesel fuel leaking into the river, but we’re booming (collecting) that, so there is minimal damage to the ecosystem at this time.”
Following the incident, police established a 1-mile perimeter around the site of the crash, closing down several roads and evacuating approximately 75 households in the area, according to Beaton.
On Tuesday morning, police reduced the perimeter to a half-mile, with around 10 households still under evacuation order, said Beaton. Route 14 will continue to be closed to the north and south of the crash site.
An evacuation center has been established at the Irasburg Town Hall, and is currently being operated by the American Red Cross.
The evacuation center, which has yet to receive any evacuees, remained open until 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to Jennifer Costa, director of communications for the northern New England region of the Red Cross.
“After that, we’re going to go into something like a standby mode,” Costa said. “If there’s a need to, we can mobilize it again within a couple of hours.”
Costa urged people who need assistance in the area of the crash to call 800-Red Cross (800-733-2767) or Vermont 211.
