A freight train derailed Saturday night BNSF near Bakersfield, California, continued to burn Sunday as firefighters worked to douse the flames caused by plastic pellets, a spokeswoman for the train company said. Columns of black smoke filled the air in Keene, about 30 miles east of Bakersfield, causing the evacuation of at least six houses in the rural population, BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said. No injuries were reported.
Train conductor and engineer were the only people aboard the train, said Kent. The train began its journey in Barstow and was intended to Stockton. Derailed around 9:30 pm PT Saturday, said Kent. The derailment happened when two of the long freight wagons came off the track near a tunnel entrance, she said. “The train was carrying goods of all kinds,” said Kent. “Unfortunately there was no order of denatured alcohol burned for a while but is now out, and then there was [a] car cornmeal, a car of corn syrup and a plastic pellet car.
As we speak, that car was sprayed with foam to suppress the fire. ” To contain the fire, railroad and fire department personnel worked on Sunday to remove two of the cars. However, the fire was kept burning in the tunnel. Firefighters hoped that the fire of midnight Sunday, according to the Fire Department, Kern County.
The track is owned by Union Pacific, according to spokesman Aaron Hunt. An evacuation center was set up by firefighters at a local high school, but was closed after no residents showed up, Kent said. Calls seeking comment from the Environmental Protection Agency California on air quality in Keene, were not immediately returned.
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