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AP story on bridge fire
Author: Charles Stookey
Date: 03-15-2007 - 21:32
Fire burns Sacramento rail trestle
By AARON C. DAVIS, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago
A 300-foot stretch of an elevated railroad trestle caught fire and partially collapsed Thursday evening, sending a dramatic wall of thick, black smoke thousands of feet into the air.
The blaze forced Amtrak to halt a westbound train from Reno to Sacramento, said George Elsmore, railroad operations and safety program manager for the California Public Utilities Commission. He said the fire also was likely to disrupt freight traffic throughout the northern part of the state.
"This is a main line for the Union Pacific. It's a major line right over the American River," he said.
The trestle, which keeps trains elevated above local roads and a wetlands area, could be seen buckling under the intense heat and partially collapsed after sunset. No train was involved in the fire, Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said, and there were no reports of injuries.
The trestle supports a key rail artery leading into Sacramento. Officials reported that several Amtrak trains were scheduled to travel through that section of track and were being stopped.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said about 130 passengers had been stranded on a train in Roseville, a suburb northeast of the capital, for nearly five hours. Buses were brought in to bring the passengers to Sacramento. Cole said Amtrak will continue using buses along the route on Friday, and may have to suspend service on the damaged portion of the rail indefinitely.
Fire officials had not determined how the blaze started. The trestle, made out of wood that was treated in an oily substance to preserve it, fueled an intense fire that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.
The spectacle drew a crowd of hundreds of pedestrians from nearby hotels and stores and crippled rush-hour traffic on the Capital City Freeway around Cal Expo, the state fairgrounds. The fire also was burning near power lines and had cut power to some local stores.
Emergency workers used loudspeakers to tell pedestrians to stay out of the path of the smoke, fearing it may be hazardous. Before nightfall, the wall of smoke extended an estimated 2,000 feet into the air and bent in a giant S-curve, blanketing the capital skyline.
By AARON C. DAVIS, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago
A 300-foot stretch of an elevated railroad trestle caught fire and partially collapsed Thursday evening, sending a dramatic wall of thick, black smoke thousands of feet into the air.
The blaze forced Amtrak to halt a westbound train from Reno to Sacramento, said George Elsmore, railroad operations and safety program manager for the California Public Utilities Commission. He said the fire also was likely to disrupt freight traffic throughout the northern part of the state.
"This is a main line for the Union Pacific. It's a major line right over the American River," he said.
The trestle, which keeps trains elevated above local roads and a wetlands area, could be seen buckling under the intense heat and partially collapsed after sunset. No train was involved in the fire, Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said, and there were no reports of injuries.
The trestle supports a key rail artery leading into Sacramento. Officials reported that several Amtrak trains were scheduled to travel through that section of track and were being stopped.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said about 130 passengers had been stranded on a train in Roseville, a suburb northeast of the capital, for nearly five hours. Buses were brought in to bring the passengers to Sacramento. Cole said Amtrak will continue using buses along the route on Friday, and may have to suspend service on the damaged portion of the rail indefinitely.
Fire officials had not determined how the blaze started. The trestle, made out of wood that was treated in an oily substance to preserve it, fueled an intense fire that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.
The spectacle drew a crowd of hundreds of pedestrians from nearby hotels and stores and crippled rush-hour traffic on the Capital City Freeway around Cal Expo, the state fairgrounds. The fire also was burning near power lines and had cut power to some local stores.
Emergency workers used loudspeakers to tell pedestrians to stay out of the path of the smoke, fearing it may be hazardous. Before nightfall, the wall of smoke extended an estimated 2,000 feet into the air and bent in a giant S-curve, blanketing the capital skyline.
