UDOT Places Temporary Road Patch on I-15 At Site Of Early Morning Tanker Fire

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After a morning of lane closures and detoured traffic, the Utah Department of Transportation has reopened all lines at the site of a fiery crash .

All southbound lanes on I-15 between 400 South and 2100 South in Salt Lake City closed Friday morning after a crash caused a semi trailer to burst into flames.

Driver John Strate said he felt the heat of the flames while driving along I-15.

“It was really intense to see this huge plume of smoke and flames just coming from a rolled over semi,” Strate said.

He said the interstate was packed with curious onlookers.

“It was really intense especially as fire crews were trying to get through,” he said. “We were all trying to squish and make sure they had enough room to get through.”

According to the Utah Highway Patrol, a Honda Civic was traveling south in the vicinity of 1300 South at about 1:48 a.m. when it hit the trailer of a semi truck that was carrying 8,000 gallons of fuels. The impact caused the semi trailer to roll, sparking a fire as it did.

The combustibles ignited, and fire engulfed the truck and road. Luckily, both drivers were able to escape. The driver of the Honda was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, and the driver of the semi was transported to the hospital as a precaution.

UDOT spokesman John Gleason tweeted Friday morning that crews were expected to have all lanes open except the one in which the truck was burning. The road was damaged during the inferno in that lane, so repairs were expected to continue through the day.

Breaking: UDOT crews expect to open an additional two lanes on southbound I-15 around 10 a.m. The remaining lane will stay closed most of the day while road repairs are made.

— John Gleason (@johnegleason) February 22, 2019

 

“Anytime you have this volume of product spilled onto a major artery, I-15 in particular, this is a major concern to us,” said Capt. Adam Archuleta with the Salt Lake City Fire Department.

He said the liquid was a concern because it not only burns the site, but it has the potential to spill out beyond and continue igniting.

Pam Davenport, a spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County Health Department, said some fuel did empty into a drain near the crash site, but the exact amount wasn’t immediately clear.

Davenport said regulations dictate the truck company is responsible for remediation of the fuel spill.

Update: Fire is under control. Fire PIO en route to staging area at 1300 S. 500 W. pic.twitter.com/S9CgZT2TKC

— Salt Lake City Fire Department (@slcfire) February 22, 2019