Posted on Sep 16, 2023
Fire-prone old BNSF train ignited 500-acre Columbia Gorge blaze, state finds
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Chunks of hot carbon and lubricant pads spewed from a 1970s-era BNSF Railway locomotive causing a wildfire in southern Washington in July, according to an investigation from the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
The Tunnel 5 fire in the Columbia River Gorge burned 546 acres and destroyed 10 structures before it was put out on July 14, two weeks after it ignited beside BNSF Railway tracks in Skamania County west of White Salmon.
A Department of Natural Resources fire investigation, first reported by Columbia Insight, ruled out lightning and other possible ignition sources. The agency blamed a BNSF train that carried lumber toward the railway’s Tunnel 5 about 15 minutes before various 911 callers reported seeing flames amid the grass and dry brush beside the tracks.
“This train emitted some object(s) which started fire in three areas over an [approximate] 690-foot distance, all on the north side of the tracks,” Department of Natural Resources investigator Bruce Long concluded.
Long found 1- to 2-inch chunks of carbon—oversized exhaust particles from a diesel engine—and more than 70 scraps of train-wheel lubrication pads in or near the three spots where the fire broke out.
“No other evidence was located which can explain the three simultaneous fires starting within the same time frame and inside this 690-foot-long area, all on the north side of the BNSF tracks,” Long wrote.
The Tunnel 5 fire in the Columbia River Gorge burned 546 acres and destroyed 10 structures before it was put out on July 14, two weeks after it ignited beside BNSF Railway tracks in Skamania County west of White Salmon.
A Department of Natural Resources fire investigation, first reported by Columbia Insight, ruled out lightning and other possible ignition sources. The agency blamed a BNSF train that carried lumber toward the railway’s Tunnel 5 about 15 minutes before various 911 callers reported seeing flames amid the grass and dry brush beside the tracks.
“This train emitted some object(s) which started fire in three areas over an [approximate] 690-foot distance, all on the north side of the tracks,” Department of Natural Resources investigator Bruce Long concluded.
Long found 1- to 2-inch chunks of carbon—oversized exhaust particles from a diesel engine—and more than 70 scraps of train-wheel lubrication pads in or near the three spots where the fire broke out.
“No other evidence was located which can explain the three simultaneous fires starting within the same time frame and inside this 690-foot-long area, all on the north side of the BNSF tracks,” Long wrote.
Fire-prone old BNSF train ignited 500-acre Columbia Gorge blaze, state finds
Posted from kuow.orgPosted in these groups: BNSF Railway
State of Washington
State of Washington
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 3
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"Now a State of Washington Department of Natural Resources wildland fire investigation report obtained by Columbia Insight has pinpointed debris from brakes and carbon emission particles from a BNSF locomotive engine as the cause of the blaze."
"Now a State of Washington Department of Natural Resources wildland fire investigation report obtained by Columbia Insight has pinpointed debris from brakes and carbon emission particles from a BNSF locomotive engine as the cause of the blaze."
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SPC Joseph Kopac
I would lean more toward the ignited oil coming out of the stacks being the cause. After a 8 hour shift back in the day, your car would be covered with oil droplets. It would also be covered with brown dust from the brake shoes.
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Looks like an old General Motors GP-38. They were one of the easiest locomotives to maintain back in the 70's. The ones that really threw the sparks out the stack were called Alcos. Short for American Locomotive. We called them RADs, run after dark. They blew out lots of egg smelling smoke and sparks and were famous for starting brush fires.
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