Tanker Truck Spills 2,500 Gallons of Diesel Fuel Into Creek
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GORMAN — Debris from a tire blowout broke valves beneath a tanker truck traveling south on the Golden State Freeway on Tuesday afternoon, causing the truck to leak about 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel into nearby Gorman Creek, authorities said.
Officials built a dike around the fuel, a mixture of gasoline and oil, before it emptied into Pyramid Lake, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Henry Rodriguez.
The tanker truck from Bakersfield-based Ultramar was traveling south on the freeway at Youngs Hill Road about 9:40 a.m. when a tire blew, Rodriguez said. The driver pulled over and discovered tire shards had ruptured several valves, causing the leak.
“The hole was so big we couldn’t even stop it,” Rodriguez said.
A county hazardous-materials crew, the California Department of Transportation and the state Department of Water Resources were assisting in the cleanup, which was expected to last well into Tuesday night, Rodriguez said.
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