Fuel spill that closed I-90 lanes cleaned up, little environmental impact expected

Published 5:22 pm Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The eastbound lanes of Interstate-90 near Exit 34, outside of North Bend were closed for 15 hours on Tuesday, Jan. 12 after a collision knocked a semi-truck off the road and caused it to spill fuel.

The Washington State Patrol received a report of the incident at 7:16 a.m. and closed eastbound I-90 until they could clean it up.

Trooper Rick Johnson explained that a vehicle hit the semi-truck as it was trying to pass, knocking the rear trailer on its side.

“There was a small pickup truck following the double tanker. It tried to pass, went out of control when it was alongside, and hit the cab. That forced the semi over the snow bank and the rear trailer ended up on its side,” Johnson said.

Because the rear trailer was spilling fuel, Eastside Fire and Rescue’s Hazardous Materials team and the Department of Ecology were called to the scene to assess the damage and remove the fuel.

“They had to pump the fuel out of both tanks, the main one, closest to the truck was not compromised,” Johnson said. “There wasn’t any environmental damage, it was flowing away from the creek that runs along I-90.”

According to Johnson, the vehicles involved were occupied only by their drivers and both left the accident without injuries.

Fuel cleanup was wrapping up by around 8 p.m., but officials kept the highway closed for an additional two hours for avalanche control. By 10 p.m. the eastbound lanes had reopened.