Los Angeles County, CA : Big rig crash sparks small fire off Highway 14 on early Wednesday morning October 15th 2014

A big rig crash in Acton early Wednesday sent the driver to the hospital and spilled about 100 gallons of diesel fuel that caught fire by the side of Highway 14, emergency response officials said. The driver of the big rig was not seriously hurt and was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution, according to the California Highway Patrol. About 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, the big rig northbound on Highway 14 blew a tire, crashed and ended up on the right shoulder, just south of Puritan Mine Road, said Inspector Keith Mora of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. “This was a single vehicle incident,” he told The Signal Wednesday morning. “The driver blew a tire and hit a median. The saddle tank containing diesel fuel ruptured with about 100 gallons of diesel that spilled. “The diesel caught fire and burned very aggressively,” Mora said. “And, because it burned real hot about 1-inch of top soil was scorched,” he said. A specialized fuel spill cleanup crew with the Fire Department’s Health Hazardous Materials Division was dispatched to the crash site at 2:20 a.m. At 9:30 a.m., the hazmat team was still at the site, Mora said. Helping in the cleanup and containment efforts were Caltrans and a private Santa Clarita Valley firm called, Patriot Environmental Services. “It’s actually better when it burns,” Mora explained, noting the fire leaves less liquid fuel to enter storm drains. A spokesman for Caltrans reported none of the spilled fuel found its way into storm drains. “There was a fuel leak but it did not go into the storm drains,” said Caltrans spokesman Patrick Chandler. “It was actually contained by the dirt alongside the freeway so, technically, it was contained.” The sudden burning of spilled diesel prompted several Acton residents to report seeing the blaze from their homes, according to the CHP. The diesel fire ignited brush near the freeway but firefighters contained the brush fire promptly, said Fire Department Inspector Randall Wright . Fire officials immediately named the brush fire, the Rover IC Fire. Shortly after 1:45 a.m., firefighters reported the big rig fire and resulting brush fire “knocked down,” Wright said. About an eighth of acre of brush was burned in the incident, he said. All northbound lanes of Highway 14 were shut down for two hours between 1:40 and 3:30 a.m. At least two lanes remained closed until daybreak while cleanup crews continue their work, according to the CHP. Source : Big rig crash sparks small fire off Highway 14