UPDATE: Some roads reopen following tanker truck crash and fuel spill

David Benda and Mike Chapman, Redding Record Searchlight
·5 min read

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6 p.m. Friday UPDATE:

Several roads reopened Friday night in the downtown Redding area after being closed for more than 12 hours following a tanker truck crash and fuel spill in the morning.

One main thoroughfare that's open again is eastbound Cypress Avenue.

But police are warning drivers: Don't try to cut through the Safeway parking lot to reach East Street.

Also, the stay-at-home order issued earlier in the day has been lifted.

Here are the roads still closed as of 5:45 p.m. Friday:

  • Northbound Pine at Cypress

  • East St. at Locust St.

  • Southbound Market St. to northbound Pine St.

  • Northbound Market St. at Cypress Ave.

  • Park Marina from Parkview to Locust St.

ORIGINAL STORY

A number of roads and one school had to be closed after a tanker truck overturned in downtown Redding early Friday morning near the Safeway store on Pine Street.

An undetermined amount of spilled fuel made its way into the Sacramento River via Calaboose Creek from storm drain.

Hailey Cole of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response said she collected some dead fish from the creek.

The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. at Pine and East streets near West Coast Auto Sales.

A tanker truck overturned at Pine and East streets early Friday morning, Jan. 21, 2022, and spilled a mix of fuel, causing the closure of several downtown streets. An undetermined amount of the gasoline-and-diesel mix entered several storm drains, which contaminated a stretch of the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District canal and Calaboose Creek leading to the Sacramento River.

Police on Friday afternoon were asking everyone to avoid the area of Pine Street and Cypress Avenue. Police said the area was expected to reopen by 9 p.m. Friday.

Redding police Sgt. Mike DiMatteo said the initial investigation revealed the driver of the truck was going too fast and lost control, which caused the truck to overturn and spill its contents.

Police said the driver was going north on Pine Street, north of Cypress Avenue, "at a high rate of speed for the truck and roadway."

A tanker truck overturned at Pine and East streets early Friday morning, Jan. 21, 2022, and spilled fuel, causing the closure of several downtown streets. An undetermined amount of a gasoline-and-diesel mix entered a storm drain, which contaminated a stretch of the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District canal and Calaboose Creek leading to the Sacramento River.

One of the truck's rear tires hit a raised concrete curb and caused the rear tank trailer to lose control, causing the truck to roll over, police said.

California Department of Transportation and Redding Fire Department crews worked to contain the spill along with an environmental cleanup crew from US Ecology, a hazardous waste treatment and disposal company. Firefighters were trying to dam and dike a second storm drain, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services said in a spill report.

After the crash, the fuel called Transmix was spilling out of the truck's two tanks at a rate of 10 gallon per minute, the OES report said.

US Ecology workers were stationed at the Sacramento River under the Cypress Avenue bridge where they positioned hay bales and tubes of a fuel-absorbing material where Calaboose Creek enters the river. A sheen from the fuel could be seen on the creek's surface.

When police arrived Friday morning, the truck was “leaking a pretty good amount of fluid coming from inside the tanks,” DiMatteo said, adding that the truck was carrying “a fuel mix.”

Under the Cypress Avenue bridge, straw tubes and hay were put down to try and absorb spilled fuel that made it into Calaboose Creek and keep it from entering the Sacramento River on Friday morning Jan. 21, 2022.
Under the Cypress Avenue bridge, straw tubes and hay were put down to try and absorb spilled fuel that made it into Calaboose Creek and keep it from entering the Sacramento River on Friday morning Jan. 21, 2022.

Classes at Cypress School were canceled over concerns due to the fuel leak, DiMatteo said. The spill caused a strong petroleum smell throughout the area.

"Due to the safety concerns of the fuel on the roadway and in the storm drains, a shelter-in-place order has been issued for East Street east to Park Marina and Locust Street south to Cypress Avenue," police said on Facebook immediately following the spill.

"Shelter in place means to keep windows and doors closed and stay inside due to the fuel hazards," police explained.

A tanker truck overturned at Pine and East streets, causing several streets in the area to close on Friday morning, Jan. 21, 2022.
A tanker truck overturned at Pine and East streets, causing several streets in the area to close on Friday morning, Jan. 21, 2022.

Road closures included:

  • Westbound Cypress at Athens

  • Westbound Locust at Athens

  • Southbound East at Gold

  • All of Civic Center Drive

  • Eastbound Cypress at Pine St.

  • Northbound Market at Angelo

  • Locust St.

  • Canal at Locust St.

Battalion Chief Eric McMurtrey of the Redding Fire Department said the truck's tanks had a capacity of 8,000 gallons. Authorities at this time do not know how much of the fuel mix spilled.

A fuel spill from a tanker truck crash in downtown Redding caused a sheen on the surface of Calaboose Creek where it enters the Sacramento River on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
A fuel spill from a tanker truck crash in downtown Redding caused a sheen on the surface of Calaboose Creek where it enters the Sacramento River on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.

McMurtrey said the tanker was carrying a mix of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products and was on its way to a waste yard to dispose of the contents.

The leaked fuel entered storm drains, which lead to the Sacramento River, California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Eric Laughlin said.

“We have crews on the scene now who are still evaluating it and assessing” the damage, he said. “At this point it is still early to understand the environmental impacts.”

Laughlin said the Oiled Wildlife Care Network has been notified. The statewide collective is a group of wildlife care providers, regulatory agencies, academic institutions and wildlife organizations that works to rescue and rehabilitate oiled wildlife in California, according to its website.

The fuel spill had a lesser impact on the ACID canal across from City Hall.

“For the most part the impact to us has been very minor. It mainly ended up in Calaboose Creek,” said John Currey, general manager of the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District.

The fuel reached the creek and canal from city storm drains. There’s a storm drain at South Street where it enters the canal.

“We have some material in the canal but it’s limited in comparison to what made it down toward the river,” Currey said, who was at the scene along with two state water board representatives.

DiMatteo said it does not appear that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash. The truck driver, a 51-year-old woman from Redding, was complaining of pain from minor injuries after the collision, police said.

She was taken to Mercy Medical Center for evaluation.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Some Redding roads reopen following tanker truck crash and fuel spill