Trestle Collapses; Fire Continues to Burn
|
At 11:23 p.m. Thursday, fire claimed the last remaining piece of a section of railroad in Sacramento that had burned for almost six hours. The trestle on the north side of the American River fully collapsed into a heap of burning timber and red-hot iron.
The flames, visible for miles, raged across nearly 600 feet of a major Sacramento railroad trestle near Cal Expo during the peak of afternoon traffic Thursday.
Sacramento fire officials said the blaze was expected to burn throughout the night north of the American River and could continue to smolder for the next few days. Sources also told News10 that investigators believe the fire may have been intentionally set.
"We are doing our best to contain it. This is the type of fire that takes lots and lots of water. We'll be applying water on this for a while," Sacramento City Fire Captain Jim Doucette said.
"I've never seen a train bridge fire this big.... I've seen pretty big fires in my career. This is in the top three. This was huge."
The blaze started around 5:40 p.m. along the tracks near the Capital City Freeway, pumping huge plumes of thick black smoke high over the scene. The line is a major rail thoroughfare for Union Pacific and other railroad transportation heading east from downtown Sacramento.
Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Christian Pebbles said the fire spread rapidly, stretching across the length of a football field within minutes. Fire officials said they have not determined how the fire started, but the creosote-soaked trestle fueled intense black smoke that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.
Coal tar creosote is a thick, oily liquid commonly used to preserve the peeled logs used to stabilize railroad trestles.
The fire brought rush-hour traffic to a halt on the Capital City Freeway bordering the state fairgrounds as commuters stopped to look at the blaze. Some even got out of their cars and began walking towards the flames, forcing officials to use megaphones to warn spectators away.
Portions of the structure began collapsing after 7 p.m. Doucette said nearly 100 area firefighters would continue to battle the fire throughout the night and hot spots could continue to burn over the next several days.
According to sources close to the investigation, the speed of the fire's spread had authorities looking into the possibility that an accelerant was involved in the blaze.
The heat and scope of the fire left even veteran firefighters in awe. "If this would've been a hot summer day, we would've had firefighters in the hospital right now," Doucette said.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the blaze, Doucette said.
Union Pacific workers were also on scene, using heavy equipment to help tear down the remaining parts of the train trestle and tracks. The span will need to be completely rebuilt, a process that will take at least several weeks.
As for Capitol Corridor passengers, service between Sacramento and Auburn will be provided by motorcoach buses starting Friday.
The flames, visible for miles, raged across nearly 600 feet of a major Sacramento railroad trestle near Cal Expo during the peak of afternoon traffic Thursday.
Sacramento fire officials said the blaze was expected to burn throughout the night north of the American River and could continue to smolder for the next few days. Sources also told News10 that investigators believe the fire may have been intentionally set.
"We are doing our best to contain it. This is the type of fire that takes lots and lots of water. We'll be applying water on this for a while," Sacramento City Fire Captain Jim Doucette said.
"I've never seen a train bridge fire this big.... I've seen pretty big fires in my career. This is in the top three. This was huge."
The blaze started around 5:40 p.m. along the tracks near the Capital City Freeway, pumping huge plumes of thick black smoke high over the scene. The line is a major rail thoroughfare for Union Pacific and other railroad transportation heading east from downtown Sacramento.
Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Christian Pebbles said the fire spread rapidly, stretching across the length of a football field within minutes. Fire officials said they have not determined how the fire started, but the creosote-soaked trestle fueled intense black smoke that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.
Coal tar creosote is a thick, oily liquid commonly used to preserve the peeled logs used to stabilize railroad trestles.
The fire brought rush-hour traffic to a halt on the Capital City Freeway bordering the state fairgrounds as commuters stopped to look at the blaze. Some even got out of their cars and began walking towards the flames, forcing officials to use megaphones to warn spectators away.
Portions of the structure began collapsing after 7 p.m. Doucette said nearly 100 area firefighters would continue to battle the fire throughout the night and hot spots could continue to burn over the next several days.
According to sources close to the investigation, the speed of the fire's spread had authorities looking into the possibility that an accelerant was involved in the blaze.
The heat and scope of the fire left even veteran firefighters in awe. "If this would've been a hot summer day, we would've had firefighters in the hospital right now," Doucette said.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the blaze, Doucette said.
Union Pacific workers were also on scene, using heavy equipment to help tear down the remaining parts of the train trestle and tracks. The span will need to be completely rebuilt, a process that will take at least several weeks.
As for Capitol Corridor passengers, service between Sacramento and Auburn will be provided by motorcoach buses starting Friday.
At 11:23 p.m. Thursday, fire claimed the last remaining piece of a section of railroad in Sacramento that had burned for almost six hours. The trestle on the north side of the American River fully collapsed into a heap of burning timber and red-hot iron.
The flames, visible for miles, raged across nearly 600 feet of a major Sacramento railroad trestle near Cal Expo during the peak of afternoon traffic Thursday.
Sacramento fire officials said the blaze was expected to burn throughout the night north of the American River and could continue to smolder for the next few days. Sources also told News10 that investigators believe the fire may have been intentionally set.
"We are doing our best to contain it. This is the type of fire that takes lots and lots of water. We'll be applying water on this for a while," Sacramento City Fire Captain Jim Doucette said.
"I've never seen a train bridge fire this big.... I've seen pretty big fires in my career. This is in the top three. This was huge."
The blaze started around 5:40 p.m. along the tracks near the Capital City Freeway, pumping huge plumes of thick black smoke high over the scene. The line is a major rail thoroughfare for Union Pacific and other railroad transportation heading east from downtown Sacramento.
Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Christian Pebbles said the fire spread rapidly, stretching across the length of a football field within minutes. Fire officials said they have not determined how the fire started, but the creosote-soaked trestle fueled intense black smoke that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.
Coal tar creosote is a thick, oily liquid commonly used to preserve the peeled logs used to stabilize railroad trestles.
The fire brought rush-hour traffic to a halt on the Capital City Freeway bordering the state fairgrounds as commuters stopped to look at the blaze. Some even got out of their cars and began walking towards the flames, forcing officials to use megaphones to warn spectators away.
Portions of the structure began collapsing after 7 p.m. Doucette said nearly 100 area firefighters would continue to battle the fire throughout the night and hot spots could continue to burn over the next several days.
According to sources close to the investigation, the speed of the fire's spread had authorities looking into the possibility that an accelerant was involved in the blaze.
The heat and scope of the fire left even veteran firefighters in awe. "If this would've been a hot summer day, we would've had firefighters in the hospital right now," Doucette said.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the blaze, Doucette said.
Union Pacific workers were also on scene, using heavy equipment to help tear down the remaining parts of the train trestle and tracks. The span will need to be completely rebuilt, a process that will take at least several weeks.
As for Capitol Corridor passengers, service between Sacramento and Auburn will be provided by motorcoach buses starting Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment
CAL FIRE NEWS LOVES COMMENTS...
- Due to rampant abuse, we are no longer posting anonymous comments. Please use your real OpenID, Google, Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, Flickr name.