PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities say a fire that sent flames soaring 70 feet in the air was caused when a tractor-trailer hauling fuel crashed into railroad tanker cars filled with liquid asphalt.
Police say the truck driver died, and authorities continued to investigate the cause of the Sunday crash.
Firefighters say the crash caused fuel to leak underneath the parked train cars and caught fire. It burned eight train cars, but none leaked the liquid asphalt they contained.
BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas says passenger and freight service in the area won’t be impacted.
The fire occurred on a side track owned by Portland & Western Railroad.
