Tanker explodes on Interstate 25, sparks grass fire

A tanker truck carrying jet fuel caught fire after breaking down Wednesday, then ignited a 250-acre grass fire near the El Paso-Douglas county line.

Authorities said the tanker is from Aurora and did not say where it was going. No one was hurt and no other vehicles were involved.

“We believe part of the drive train of the tractor unit broke loose, popped up into the trailer, which caused a spark that ignited the jet fuel that was in the tanker truck,” Sgt. James Senecal, of the Colorado State Patrol, said. “The driver was safely able to pull over to the side of the road, and abandon the vehicle before it became fully engulfed in flames.”

The truck was southbound on Interstate 25 between Monument and Larkspur around 12:30 p.m. when the crash happened.

The tanker burst into flames, which sparked a brush fire in the adjacent Greenland Open Space. Firefighters from Black Forest, Tri-Lakes and other departments responded.

“One of our motor carrier units was almost directly in front of this truck,” Senecal said. “He said he looked in his rear-view mirror, heard a boom and saw the tanker truck explode in flames. When I got here, black smoke was hundreds of feet in the air.”

Strong winds were a mixed blessing. They blew flames and smoke off the highway but made it difficult for firefighters to extinguish the blaze quickly.

The interstate was closed briefly in both directions immediately after the incident. Later, southbound lanes were closed for an extended period while firefighters contained the fire.

By 5:30 p.m., authorities had towed the damaged tanker away and reopened all lanes of traffic.

To move the tanker, authorities called in another tanker to drain off remaining fuel, dissipated static electricity that could ignite the fuel, and cut the tanker in half.