klamath river spill

[flymaster]

Anyone interested in the Klamath River spill can see the article in the Redding Searchlight. http://www.redding.com/redd/news

[David Lee]

Thanks for posting the link .

David

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

HAMBURG -- Between 500 and 1,000 gallons of a toxic asphalt emulsion spilled into the Klamath River -- creating an eight-mile plume downriver -- after a tanker truck overturned on Highway 96 on Friday, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department and California Department of Fish and Game reported.

The California Department of Transportation called the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department about 10 a.m. Friday for help with a hazardous materials spill on Highway 96. The spill was near Hamburg, about three-quarters of a mile down the Klamath River from the Scott River, sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp said.


The oily liquid flowed from a hole punctured in the tanker when the truck crashed and rolled onto its side on Highway 96 next to the river, said Anna Counihan, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher. The truck did not fall into the river.

The driver was a contractor carrying the asphalt emulsion to a road work site on the highway near Happy Camp, Gravenkamp said. The name of the driver was not immediately available.

After the wreck, the driver was taken to Fairchild Medical Center in Yreka, was treated for minor injuries and released, she said.

The Klamath River from Hamburg west is closed to recreation, and no one should swim in the Klamath River until further notice, Gravenkamp said.

At the time of the spill, the river was moving at about 1½ mph, and by noon Friday the plume had reached Rocky Ridge, below Happy Camp, she said.

The material is reportedly an emulsion created by VSS Emultech, said Dana Michaels, a Fish the Game information officer. It contains petroleum, is toxic and is used to inhibit dust on dirt roads, she said.

But the spill most likely will affect only fish and invertebrates, she said.

Fish and Game officers and a hazardous materials team from Ben's Truck & Equipment in Red Bluff responded Friday and will continue cleaning up today, Caltrans Information Officer Michael Mayor said. He added that the crew pumped the rest of the oil out of the truck so it could be towed Friday.

Gravenkamp said biologists from Fish & Game are in charge of the clean-up process and will be taking water samples.

Reporter Lauren Brooks can be reached at 225-8215 or at lbrooks@redding.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[jill baker]

Anyone interested in the Klamath River spill can see the article in the Redding Searchlight. http://www.redding.com/redd/news

Me and my hubby were planning a trip to california to do some steelheading in October and always have liked the Klammath, will this affect it?

[lee s.]

" But the spill most likely will affect only fish and invertebrates, she said."

Ironic that if it is a pollutant intrusion anhialating the fish , it is ONLY fish and invertibrates. :oops: If it is fishermen killing the fish by onesies and twosies, they are going to be the absolute demise and extinction of the same fishery and must be stopped at all costs. :x
Hmmmmm.... :roll:
.....lee s.

[Darian]

The Klamath just can't catch a break.... First, agribusiness interests withdraw enough water to cause fish kills.... Then a levee break occurs on (I believe) Klamath Lake broadcasting impounded water over a large area, not to the river..... Now a toxic spill....

Wonder what else can go wrong up there :?: :?: :x :x :x