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Update…
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) – BNSF Railway has opened a claims center for residents of Casselton after the derailment of a crude-oil carrying train about a mile from the southeastern North Dakota town.
No one was hurt in the Monday derailment, but about two-thirds of the town’s 2,400 residents temporarily evacuated.
Steve Hedlin was among the first in line when the claims center opened Thursday morning at a hotel in Casselton. Hedlin says he left town with his father, girlfriend and her three children after the derailment.
Hedlin says he intends to file a claim for about $200 to cover the cost of a hotel and food in Fargo and for the gas it took to get there and back.
BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth says the railroad was processing about nine claims per hour Thursday.
Casselton Mayor Ed McConnell says he suspects several business owners and individuals will file claims.
Previously…
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) – BNSF Railway has reopened the two lines at Casselton that were shut down Monday when a crude oil-carrying train derailed and caught fire.
There were actually two derailments. A westbound train carrying grain derailed first, and a portion of it fell onto an adjacent track carrying the eastbound oil train. Eighteen cars on the 106-car oil train derailed and several burned.
No one was hurt, but many of the 2,400 residents in nearby Casselton temporarily evacuated due to potentially unsafe air.
BNSF says one of the lines reopened at 3 a.m. Thursday and the second about 15 minutes later.
Traffic was rerouted on other lines while cleanup and repair work was done, but BNSF says some shipments moving through the corridor might be delayed up to 36 hours.
The National Transportation Safety Board says a preliminary analysis shows that the grain train was traveling 28 mph before derailing while using emergency brakes. The oil train was going 42 mph when it hit the derailed grain train car on it’s track. Board member Robert Sumwalt says investigators were able to look at video from the end of one of the locomotives.
A broken axle has been found and will be studied to see if it played a role in the derailment and crash on Monday. Sumwalt says it’s still the early stages of the investigation.
Federal Railroad Administration data shows that Cass County led North Dakota with 30 train derailments from January 2000 through October 2013, and nearly half of the county’s 37 overall train accidents were caused by track defects.
Previously…
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) – Work is ongoing to repair and reopen the railroad tracks at Casselton after a crude oil-carrying train derailed and caught fire.
Cass County Deputy Greg Smith says BNSF crews are busy, even though it’s a holiday and the temperature is about 15 degrees below zero. Smith says the fire is still smoldering, but there are no longer any visible flames and the smoke is blending in with the exhaust from the equipment at the scene about a mile outside of Casselton. BNSF Railway says on its website that it expects to reopen the tracks at 7 a.m. Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the wreck.
Residents of Casselton say life is getting back to normal after an oil train derailment and fire near the southeastern North Dakota community.
Mayor Ed McConnell was back at his trucking business on New Year’s Day, catching up on things he says he typically would have done the day before. He says the incident cost the 2,400 residents of the town a day and a half of their normal lives, but he thinks the community will recover quickly.
The BNSF train derailed Monday about a mile from the town, prompting the voluntary evacuation of about two-thirds of its residents. The cause of the wreck isn’t known. No one was hurt.
Renee Steen lives about half a mile from the crash site. She says she thinks the response was handled well.
Tuesday afternoon, the evacuation recommendation was being lifted for Casselton, near the oil train explosion. One or two of the train cars carrying oil was still burning.
Dr. Alan Nye, a toxicologist with the Center of Toxicology and Environmental Health, an Arkansas-based consulting firm hired by BNSF, says the air quality tests revealed particulates in the air, but no carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide – dangerous compounds that can result from burning crude oil.
Previously
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) – Authorities say air quality appears to be improving after a fire from the derailment of a crude oil-carrying train in southeastern North Dakota.
The BNSF Railway train derailed Monday near Casselton, prompting the evacuation of about two-thirds of the town’s 2,400 residents.
Cass County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tara Morris says air quality is being tested by a contractor hired by the railroad. Morris said Tuesday morning there have been improvements in air quality readings but authorities weren’t yet prepared to “give the all-clear.”
The town’s water tower is about half-covered with soot. Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney says he expects a lot of soot around town. He tells The Associated Press, “wait until you see the footprints in the snow later on.”
The derailment/s cause isn’t known. No one was hurt.
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) – BNSF Railway is opening a claims center for residents of Casselton after the derailment of a crude-oil carrying train about a mile from the southeastern North Dakota town.
No one was hurt in the Monday derailment, but about two-thirds of the town’s 2,400 residents evacuated. The cause of the wreck hasn’t been determined.
The claims center is to open Thursday at the Days Inn Casselton and will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Personal expense claim forms and also business interruption claim forms will be available. People with claims will need a driver’s license or other identification, along with proof of residency, such as mail with a name and address.
Casselton residents can call 1-866–243-4784 for information.
Previously
CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) – About two-thirds of the 2,400 people in Casselton have heeded authorities’ call to evacuate because of a fire from a crude oil-carrying train that derailed in southeastern North Dakota.
Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Crawford says most are likely staying with friends and family because only 19 people showed up overnight at a shelter in a Fargo school.
Crawford says the fire is still burning but has died down overnight. He says there is still plenty of fire, heat and smoke – and residents of Casselton are still urged to stay away.
Authorities overnight have been using large spotlights powered by generators to illuminate the wreckage scene. They also have brought in a lot of heavy equipment such as flatbed trucks.
The cause of the Monday derailment a mile from Casselton is still being investigated. No one has been hurt, but state health officials have warned that exposure to burning crude could cause health problems.
Casselton residents say they were literally shaken by the experience.
City Auditor Sheila Klevegard says one blast shook the windows of City Hall. Klevegard said she looked out to see a huge plume and fireball about a mile from town.
Fire from the derailment is sending a lot of black soot into the sky in the Casselton area.
The town’s water tower is about half-covered with soot, and Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney says he expects a lot of soot around town. He tells The Associated Press, “wait until you see the footprints in the snow later on.”
Health experts are testing the quality of the air but don’t yet have results.
Casselton Mayor Ed McConnell says it’s time to “have a conversation” with federal lawmakers about the safety of shipping crude oil by train.
No one was hurt, but McConnell says at least 100 people could have been killed if the wreck had happened in town. He says Casselton “dodged a bullet,” and that it was “too close for comfort.”
Fears of catastrophic derailments have been stoked after a train carrying crude from North Dakota’s Bakken oil patch crashed in Quebec last summer. Forty-seven people died in the ensuing fire.
McConnell says he thinks shipping oil by pipeline has to be a safer option.
Bismarck (CSi) – In response to the Monday train derailment and fire west of Casselton, the ND Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) has activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). Staff from NDDES and the ND Department of Health are currently assisting and coordinating with local emergency responders.
In addition, NDDES has:
• Coordinated with FAA to put in place flight restrictions in the area;
• Activated Regional Response Haz-Mat team from Fargo;
• Alerted the North Dakota National Guard and Civil Support team about the incident.
The ND Highway Patrol, ND Department of Health, and the ND Department of Transportation have also sent personnel to the incident site to assist local responders.
Previously…
(CSi, AP) –A fiery train derailment occurred Monday afternoon about 2:oo on the Jamestown line less than a mile west of Casselton, about 20 miles west of Fargo .
The mile-long train was 106 cars long and headed east-bound.
Cass County Sheriff’s Capt. Mitch Burris tells The Associated Press that investigators are still trying to determine exactly what happened.
First reports indicate a crude oil train struck a grain car.
A Casselton Firefighter confirmed that the train contained oil cars, as did a BNSF spokesperson.
Crews on scene are reporting as many as a dozen rail cars left the tracks and some of them burst into flames.
The train’s destination was not immediately known.
Cass County Emergency Manager Dave Rogness says the town’s 2,400 residents have been told to stay indoors as a precaution.
A code red alert was sent out to residents in a two mile radius of the accident, saying there was “a Haz-mat incident west of town.”
He says there have been no reports of injuries to the train crew or residents.
Rogness says crews are calling for truckloads of sand to help contain leaking material. He says the derailment occurred near the city’s ethanol plant.
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