An explosion inside a shipping container at the world’s largest railyard forced the evacuation of people in western Nebraska on Thursday as toxic smoke from one of the chemicals in the container caught fire.
Around noon, an explosion occurred inside an intermodal container on a railcar at Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, although it was unclear what caused the explosion, said rail spokeswoman Robin Tysvar. No one was injured, and no cars were derailed.
Officials evacuated everyone within a mile of the explosion at the west end of the railyard due to smoke, and US Highway 30 was closed between North Platte and Hershey. Interstate 80 was not affected by smoke. It was not immediately clear how many homes were included in the mostly rural areas evacuated on the edge of the city. North Platte, which is about 230 miles east of Denver and about 250 miles west of Omaha, has a population of about 23,000.
The railroad said the fire was extinguished by 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Earlier, the North Platte Fire Department said in a post on Twitter that the evacuation was due to “heavy toxic smoke” caused by the railyard fire. Fire officials did not immediately respond to calls seeking more details.
Tyswar said one of the containers involved was carrying perchloric acid, which is used in explosives as well as a variety of food and pharmaceutical products. Officials said the car that exploded had been parked for a few hours.
Joanna Le Moine, deputy director of the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency, said officials are monitoring conditions and weather to determine which direction the smoke will move “to help keep responders and civilians safe out of an abundance of caution.” “
The railyard where the explosion occurred covered 2,850 acres and at one point extended for eight miles. A few years ago, an eight-story tall observation tower was built to allow the public to watch thousands of railcars moving from one train to another on Union Pacific’s major east-west corridor.
One of the volunteers working inside the Golden Spike Tower told the North Platte Telegraph newspaper on Thursday that he saw “a huge ball of flame” rising up while he was talking to someone.
“And then it was just fire, fire, fire, steady for maybe 10, 12 minutes. And then the fire went out and the smoke went up, and then there were just sparks,” Greg Robertson told the newspaper.
Two plumes of smoke rose from the blast site, Robertson said. “The eastern smoke was like black smoke. The smoke to the west was orange, like I had never seen before from a fire,” he said.
Railroad officials said that because the explosion occurred near the western end of the railyard and prevailing winds were carrying toxic fumes outside the railroad, Union Pacific was able to continue operating part of the facility and keep trains running. After the fire was extinguished Thursday evening, Union Pacific was able to resume use of the entire railyard, spokeswoman Kristen South said.
Rail safety has been a major concern across the country since the Norfolk Southern train derailment and fire in eastern Ohio. That derailment led to an evacuation and calls for improvements from members of Congress and regulators.
The National Transportation Safety Board is monitoring the situation but has not launched an investigation, agency spokeswoman Sarah Taylor Sulick said.
Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatow said agency officials were monitoring Union Pacific’s response to the explosion.