11/1/2016
Vehicle crash and fuel spill closes Idaho 75 between Sunbeam and Challis
RIGBY - A vehicle crash, and the resulting fuel spill, have closed Idaho 75 between Sunbeam and Challis (milepost 202 and 245). The crash occurred this morning near the East Fork Salmon River Bridge Complex at milepost 227, about 25 miles southwest of Challis.
The Idaho Transportation Department has no estimate of the duration of the closure — the highway will remain closed until the scene has been secured and it is safe to reopen. Please check the 511 road condition system for the latest conditions.
The crash involved a tanker carrying diesel fuel, which collided with a passenger car at approximately 8:45 a.m. The driver of the car died at the scene.
The tanker overturned, spilling all of its 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel, which then caught fire. The fire burned nearly five hours, generating a cloud of black smoke and intense heat.
Volunteers from the North Custer County Fire District kept the fire in check until it consumed large pools of fuel. The fire is now smouldering.
Fuel reached and torched a culvert under the highway, but crews diked the path of the fire, keeping it from spreading beyond the highway right of way. No fuel reached the river. A power line was also compromised.
Fire District Chief Launna Gunderson said the crash and fire damaged the roadway.
Emergency crews remain at the crash scene, and environmental officials are en route to the site, as are a cleanup contractor and wrecker.