Description
A 100 Oil Tank Car train going through the Columbia Gorge National Scenic area, right through a residential area. Only a few feet from the Columbia River and upstream from the Portland\Vancouver metro area.
Our Small Rural Fire department could not handle a disastrous accident with a train like this. In the dry months this area is a tinder box and the concern is that we don't have the resources or the manpower to respond effectively to an accident with a major spill or ignition. Many areas of the tracks have poor access for fire or emergency equipment, and there has already been an accident in the Gorge that luckily happened when there was very little wind.