FERNDALE, Wash. — Officials with the Washington State Patrol (WSP), BNSF Railway (BNSF), Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) held a press conference in the Whatcom County Emergency Coordination Center to provide details regarding today’s railcar derailment in Custer.
WSP Trooper Heather Axtman said they were dispatched at 11:46am today, December 22nd, to reports of a train derailment in the 7500 block of Portal Way.
Details provided include:
- the BNSF train was heading northbound after having just passed through Ferndale
- it was traveling to the Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery
- 108 cars made up the train, many containing Bakken crude oil
- there were 2 crew members onboard the train
- 7 cars derailed including 2 cars containing oil that caught fire
- people within a half-mile radius were notified to evacuate by phone notifications and law enforcement going door-to-door
- I-5 was closed in both directions between the Grandview Road and Birch Bay-Lynden Road interchanges for almost 2 hours since it was within the half-mile perimeter
- the fire is still burning but is being controlled
- investigators are not able to approach the site yet due to the fire
- the evacuation order had not been lifted (it was announced shortly after the press conference that it had been lifted but with contingencies)
- the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Washington State Utilities and Transportation had people at the scene to aid in the investigation
- water was put on the fire initially to cool down the area and adjacent railroad cars
- no structures were reported damaged
- no people were reported injured
- while the total impact is yet to be determined, the spill was contained locally and did not appear to impact any water bodies
- additional air quality monitors were set up in case there was need to alert people nearby
- none of the officials had information regarding what caused the derailment and would not until the investigation provides such
- fire crews along with refinery personnel remain at the scene while the fire burns itself out