Hazmat Crews Clean Up Tractor Trailer Sulfur Leak on Highway 41
Hazardous materials crews had to be dispatched to deal with the fallout of a situation wherein a truck leaked dangerous materials along a stretch of road.
The incident began shortly before 5 o’clock at night yesterday near Fish Camp. A tractor trailer was driving along Highway 41 toward Yosemite with a load of powdered sulfur. At some point, the sulfur, which comes in 25 pound bags, began to spill out of the vehicle. The California Highway Patrol reported that around 600 bags were spilled along the course of the tractor trailer’s jaunt.
As a result of the sulfur spilling, fires began to pop up all along the roadway. Hazardous materials crews showed up at Yosemite National Park and worked to put out the blazes and clean the roadway of the dangerous sulfur. By last night, the fires were put out, but the highway had to remain closed to accommodate safety. Yosemite Park had to close its Highway 41 entrance, and visitors were being urged to utilize Highway 140 if they wanted to get to the park.
By 12 noon today, officials were hoping to have all of the sulfur cleared from the road and the highway reopened to through traffic.
I’m glad as an Oakland car accident attorney that the various agencies involved in the cleanup were able to get the situation under control. I know as a personal injury lawyer in Oakland that things could have been a lot worse, and the fact that there apparently were no injuries is a very good thing.
