The Yellowstone National Park is working to assess the damage after a fuel tanker crash caused thousands of gallons of gasoline to spill. Park officials took to Facebook to offer the latest details on the situation.
On Friday, the park revealed that an oiler trailer carrying 3,000 gallons of unleaded fuel tipped over on the road and spilled. The incident took place on Thursday, Aug. 27.
“While the commercial motor vehicle was transporting unleaded gasoline to facilities in the park, the tandem trailer flipped over on the west side of the road and approximately 3,000 gallons of unleaded fuel was released,” the park writes on Facebook.
At the time, the park doesn’t believe that the spill reached the river. “There is no evidence that gasoline entered the Yellowstone River. This incident remains under investigation and the park has no additional information to release.”
Yellowstone Road Closures After Tanker Spill
Since Thursday, the park closed the road between Mud Volcano and Fishing Bridge Junction. The park continues working to “assess the impacts of a gasoline spill from an overturned tandem trailer on a commercial motor vehicle.”
The park also explains how visitors can maneuver around the closed road. “The East Entrance Road to Fishing Bridge Junction is open. Visitors can also access Fishing Bridge Junction from the south,” the post reads.
Currently, the park authorities do not know what caused the crash. However, the continue to investigate further into the situation.
In addition to the tanker spill in Yellowstone, park rangers are dealing with the Lone Star fire. At the moment, the fire burned 820 acres south of Old Faithful. The fire sparked after a lightning strike last Saturday, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. According to the park’s press release, the road between Old Faithful and West Thumb Junction may close again if the fire activity increases.
[H/T Idaho Statesman]
