DESERT CENTER: Inmates help extinguish hazmat-related, oil-fed, tanker truck fire

DESERT CENTER — Firefighters spent more than three hours battling an oil-fed, tanker truck blaze and vegetation fire early Sunday morning, Dec. 17. Inmate firefighters from Chuckawalla State Prison assisted in bringing the fire under control after the truck burst into flames along Interstate 10, west of Eagle Mountain Road, near Desert Center.

The tanker truck was carrying about 26,000 gallons of motor oil, at least some of which spilled onto the roadway and into a ravine south of where the truck was burning. Vegetation in the area of the ravine caught fire, forcing firefighters to battle two separate fires.

Twenty firefighters from eight Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire engine companies and a water tender responded to the blaze about 12:36 a.m., after California Highway Patrol reported that the truck’s trailer was fully engulfed in flames, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokesperson Jody Hagemann explained in an incident report. They were assisted by inmate fire crews from Chuckawalla State Prison Fire Department.

Hagemann updated that the blaze was extinguished at 3:49 a.m.

Although it was not immediately known how much motor oil was spilled, pending further investigation, a hazmat team was summoned to the scene to assist in cleaning up the oil and affected area.

While officials worked at the scene, CHP called for a SigAlert and closed both eastbound lanes of the freeway. Officials re-opened the freeway about 8 a.m.

There were no reported injuries related to the fire.

Officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.