Fire spreads from a derailed train and cars Saturday afternoon four miles east of Rock Springs. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.
An investigation into the cause of the Saturday derailment east of Rock Springs is ongoing according to a representative of the Union Pacific Railroad.
At 2:54 p.m., a UP train derailed 39 cars four miles east of Rock Springs, near the airport road. The derailment resulted in an explosion and fire. Smoke from the blaze could be seen for miles around the affected area.
According to Raquel Espinoza, a spokesperson for UP, the train consisted of 116 rail cars carrying mixed freight, including alcohol, which was involved in the fire. She said nine of the derailed cars were damaged or burned during the fire.
"There were no injuries and the fire was extinguished," Espinoza wrote in an email to the Star.
Scott Kitchner, Fire Chief of Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1, said the fire was extinguished at about 4:30 a.m., Sunday. He said crews from the Sweetwater County Fire Department and the Bureau of Land Management, along with hazardous materials teams and other employees from UP, helped contain the blaze. He said the ethanol and alcohol made approaching the fire impossible and forced firefighters to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to nearby sagebrush and grass. The fire ultimately burned 20-25 acres of land.
"It was an extremely dangerous situation," he said.
Kitchner said other chemicals the train was hauling wasn't a concern for firefighters because of how the train separated when it derailed, breaking into separate pieces. However, he said the location made containing the fire much more manageable than if had occurred elsewhere.
"We got pretty lucky there," Kitchner said.
Espinoza said rail crews moved the debris from the tracks, which will be hauled off "sometime in the near future." She also said engineering crews quickly made the repairs needed to open both main lines.
Stan Blake, Green River's House District 39 representative and a UP employee, said he was glad the derailment didn't occur in Rock Springs.
"When this happens, it makes you realize you're riding on a hazardous missile on rails," he wrote in a post on Twitter. "Glad this crew is safe."
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