BNSF Train Derails Near Anacortes, Spilling 5,000 Gallons of Diesel Fuel

Early Thursday morning, a freight train operated by BNSF derailed near Anacortes, Washington, spilling an estimated 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The incident occurred on the Swinomish Reservation, a tribal land along Puget Sound.

The Washington Department of Ecology said that responders placed a boom along the shoreline as a precaution, but most of the fuel leaked on the land side of the berm rather than toward the water. No injuries or impacts to water or wildlife have been reported.

The Ecology Department is currently assessing the situation and working with the train company to clean up the spill. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

This is the second derailment of a BNSF train in two days, with the first occurring in Arizona. The Washington incident is the first to involve a fuel spill, however.

The Ecology Department is urging people to stay away from the area until the clean-up is complete. They are also asking anyone who may have been impacted by the spill to contact the Department of Ecology’s Spills Program at 1-800-258-5990.