Derailed train spills oil into Columbia River

MOSIER, Ore. — Crews today are responding to an oil spill in the Columbia River after a 14-car Union Pacific oil tanker train derailed yesterday afternoon on tracks parallel to Interstate 84.

#Four of the tankers caught fire, which were extinguished by 2:05 a.m. today, the Oregon State Department of Transportation said.

#There were no injuries and no structures were lost.

#Ben Mitchell and Patrick Mulvihill of the Hood River News reported the train was hauling Bakken crude oil from Eastport, Idaho to Tacoma and derailed just west of Mosier shortly after noon Friday.

#An oil sheen was visible in the Columbia at first light today about six feet offshore at the mouth of Rock Creek, transportation officials said. Approximately 1,000 feet of containment boom was used to contain the sheen. Environmental crews are working to identify and control it.

#The containment boom placed this morning was in addition to three lines of absorbent booms Union Pacific Railroad placed across Rock Creek and the mouth of the creek in the Columbia River.

#Operations today will include removing rail cars from the site, transportation officials said. When the rail cars are sufficiently cool, oil will be offloaded from the remaining railcars to tank trucks.

#Wasco County Sheriff's Deputies evacuated residents in an area about one-quarter mile around the incident. The Red Cross opened an evacuation shelter at the Dry Hollow Grade School in The Dalles.

#The evacuation remains in effect. Wasco County deputies are patrolling the evacuated area to protect properties. The Wasco County Sheriff's Office will assess any continuing need for evacuation Saturday evening, and will contact citizens with an update.

#A boil water order is in place for the Mosier community as a precautionary measure in case an untested well is used for fire suppression.

#Federal, state, tribal and local authorities have established a command center near the scene to coordinate response, cleanup and investigation into what happened.

#Interstate 84 reopened for traffic at 11 p.m. Friday. The Mosier exit remains closed until further notice to allow movement of emergency response vehicles and operations.