
The Latest: Small oil sheen in Columbia River at derailment
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Latest on a train derailment in Oregon’s scenic Columbia River Gorge (all times local):
9:40
Washington state officials say there’s a small oil sheen on the Columbia River where a train derailed and caught fire near Mosier, Oregon, 70 miles east of Portland.
The state Ecology Department says it has just completed a fly-over to get a better sense of the extent of the sheen, but it has oil booms in place that are capturing the substance.
Eleven cars carrying volatile Bakken oil derailed Friday, igniting a fire that sent a plume of black smoke into the sky. It forced the evacuation of a mobile home park with about 50 homes, though federal officials say they expect that order to be lifted later Saturday.
Authorities also closed part of Interstate 84, but reopened the highway Saturday.
The river is the border between Oregon and Washington.
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9 a.m.
Federal authorities say crews have extinguished a fire at the site of an oil train derailment in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, but evacuations remain in place.
Eleven cars carrying volatile Bakken oil derailed Friday, igniting a fire that sent a plume of black smoke into the sky. It forced the evacuation of a mobile home park in Mosier with about 50 homes, though federal officials say they expect that order to be lifted later Saturday.
No injuries were reported, and authorities said they had no reports of oil reaching the Columbia.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard are monitoring the site.
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