One lane of highway still closed
Officials try to determine severity of fuel spill
Removing soil contaminated when a tanker truck overturned Wednesday on Montana 35 near Finley Point may involve digging up portions of the highway, officials have said.
But that decision has yet to be made.
"Right now we're just trying to get a feel for how far the contamination runs in both directions," said Stephen Stanley, Lake County Office of Emergency Services coordinator.
On Thursday, crews dug exploratory holes and began removing some of the gasoline-soaked soil, said Stanley, estimating that the overturned tanker spilled between 5,000 and 6,000 gallons of the fuel.
No gasoline has been found west of the highway or in Flathead Lake, he said. However, booms already have been placed on the water should the fuel seep through the surrounding soil.
"The lake itself is not threatened," said Stanley, noting that the water is 2,000 feet from its high-water shoreline and the lake bed can be easily cleaned if fuel spreads that far.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the tanker truck was traveling northbound on Montana 35 near mile marker 5 just before 3 p.m. when the trailer drifted off the right side of the road.
The trailer pulled the rest of the truck into the ditch, where it overturned, Trooper Jim Sanderson said.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Authorities closed down both lanes of traffic around the fuel spill almost immediately after the crash, forcing traffic and local school buses to be rerouted north around the lake in a two-hour detour.
Firefighters said they wanted to make sure all the gasoline was out of the roadway to prevent the possibility of sparks before allowing cars to drive on it.
One lane was reopened Wednesday night, but the second will remain closed until the full extent of the environmental damage can be determined.
"I don't think anybody has an idea of how long this will take," said Stanley.
Crews on scene are running temporary traffic lights to manage traffic flow, Sanderson said.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com