Klamath River Is Fouled in Crash of Tanker Truck
Hundreds of gallons of road sealant spilled into the Klamath River on Friday after a tanker truck overturned near the Oregon state line, authorities said.
Between 500 and 1,000 gallons of chip seal -- a tar-like substance used to repair and finish road surfaces -- leaked into the river near Hamburg, a small town 50 miles west of Yreka in Siskiyou County, said Anna Counihan, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher.
The oily liquid flowed from a hole punched in the tanker when the truck crashed and rolled onto its side on California Highway 96 next to the river, Counihan said. The driver, who was headed to a work site near Happy Camp, suffered minor injuries.
The Klamath River west of Hamburg was closed to recreation, and state and county officials told residents to avoid swimming, boating or fishing in the river.
“Don’t go out there,” Counihan said. “Definitely don’t drink it.”
A hazardous materials team was working to contain and clean up the spilled liquid, which had traveled about eight miles downstream by Friday afternoon, according to Michael Mayor, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.
Work crews pumped the remaining oil out of the tanker to stop the leaking, Mayor said.
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