A propane tanker fire that burned for nearly 40 hours is finally out, and area residents who were evacuated earlier this week have been allowed to return to their homes.
A spokesman for the Vermont Department of Public Safety said the fire, which started at 6:50 a.m. Monday, burned itself out just after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The truck went off the Route 14 bridge over the Black River in Irasburg in northern Vermont around 6:50 a.m. Monday and caught fire. No one was injured, but an inspection of the truck by drone revealed a puncture in the side of the 10,000-gallon liquid propane gas tanker, creating concerns of a potential explosion.
Due to the damage to the tanker truck, the fire had to continue to burn until all of the propane had been exhausted.
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Homes within a mile of the incident were evacuated, and once the fear of a potential explosion eased, the evacuation zone was reduced by authorities. An evacuation shelter was opened at Irasburg Town Hall but was placed on standby when no one used it.
The evacuation zone has now been lifted, officials said Wednesday, and all residents have returned home. However, Route 14 in Irasburg between Route 58 and US-5 in Irasburg remains closed and motorists are urged to avoid the area.
"Route 14 in Irasburg will not be opening up to through traffic anytime soon. The road is completely closed off beginning at the River of Life and going North all the way to the intersection of Route 14 and Route 5. The bridge has an extensive amount of damage and will need to be completely replaced before the road can be opened back up. It is our understanding that the state is working to get a temporary bridge in place as soon as they can, but we do not have an exact time frame of when that will be," the Irasburg Fire Department said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Officials said Vermont Hazardous Materials response team members will remain on-site to monitor for additional hazards until the tanker is removed from the river. Operations to remove the truck were expected to begin on Wednesday.
The crash is being investigated by the state Department of Motor Vehicles Enforcement and Safety Division.
Irasburg is a town of about 150 residents in Orleans County, located in northern Vermont about 20 miles from the Canadian border.
