Tractor-trailer carrying ‘hazardous waste’ catches fire in Death Valley

Linsey Lewis
·1 min read

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A tractor-trailer carrying “hazardous waste” caught fire in Death Valley National Park in late April, according to the National Park Service.

On April 26 on CA-190 near milepost 83 between Emigrant Junction and Stovepipe Wells, a truck’s engine and brakes caught fire while descending 5,000 vertical feet from Towne Pass.

A NPS maintenance worker reported the burning truck to park dispatch around 7 a.m. and park rangers responded with a NPS fire engine.

<em>A NPS park ranger sprays water to extinguish the truck fire. (Courtesy of NPS)</em>
A NPS park ranger sprays water to extinguish the truck fire. (Courtesy of NPS)

NPS said park rangers extinguished the fire before it reached the truck’s trailer, preventing a potential release of waste in the park. The trailer contained sulfuric acid and mixed types of solid low-level hazardous waste.

The 48-year-old truck driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and he was taken to a local hospital.

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