Washington Train Derailment: Fires Out, Clean Up Ongoing

CUSTER, WA — The fires are out, the smoke and evacuations have both lifted, now officials have begun the long process of clearing up the wreckage from Tuesday's train derailment in Whatcom County.

According to BNSF railways, at 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, a train carrying crude oil derailed near downtown Custer. In total, seven tank cars were bucked from the tracks, two of which caught fire.

After news broke, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office began evacuating a 3/4 mile zone surrounding the crash site, while first responders rushed to put out the flames before they could ignite the resulting oil spill.

While the fires were isolated fairly quickly, they weren't fully out until around 8 p.m. — shortly after the evacuation order was lifted. Residents are still advised to stay clear of the tracks near the derailment.

Ultimately, officials say there were no injuries to the public, first responders or BNSF employees.

Now that the immediate danger has passed, officials have started the next steps: clearing the crash site, and determining how the train derailed, and what impacts the spill may have had on the surrounding environment.

At a news conference Wednesday morning, BNSF's Hazardous Materials Director Justin Piper confirmed the railway was still working with state agencies to recover the remaining spilled oil, and clear any nearby contaminated water. The railway will also need to siphon the oil out of the derailed tank cars before it can move them out of the way.

"That oil is being removed from the cars and hauled to its final destination," Piper said. "We're going to continue to do that, we've been doing that through the night."

That first stage of clean up and the removal of the cars should be done in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, the railway has also set up a hotline for Custer residents who were affected by the derailment.

Other longer-term concerns are also being addressed. According to the Washington State Department of Ecology, early signs show that the environmental impacts have been minimal, but they will continue to investigate.

"As far as crude oil derailments and fires go and spills, this incident probably could not have occurred in a better location," said David Byers, the response section manager for the Department of Ecology.

That's because, despite the drama of the derailment and resulting fires, the oil spills didn't travel far, mostly pooling in a nearby ditch.

"Our ecology responders have been circling the site, looking for pathways of offsite migration of crude oil, and so far we have found none," Byers said.

Byers also said recent regulations from both the state and federal government likely helped minimize the damage, in particular regulations that improved rail car safety and design.

Ecologists report there have been no signs of groundwater contamination, though the nearby soil is likely contaminated, which will require months of clean up. Air quality in the surrounding community is also being monitored, but so far there have been no red flags.

As for what caused the crash, that's still under investigation. Officials confirm the FBI has arrived and is working with environmental agencies and local law enforcement to try and determine why the cars were flung from the tracks.

"That's just a routine practice in the case of a train derailment, so that's proceeding as we speak," Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo said.

The National Transportation Safety Board has also confirmed that they have opened an investigation into the crash, though they will not be on scene.