PLACER CO, CA (KCRA/CNN) – The drivers of a tanker truck and a tow truck are dead after the vehicles collided in a head-on crash in California on Wednesday.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Bryan Farrell said the flames were so intense that firefighters and other first responders were delayed in getting to the vehicles involved.
"We had multiple explosions, both from the commercial tow truck and the commercial fuel truck. We had to coordinate resources to make access from both directions due to both the impact on the roadway and the effects of the fire on responding resources," Farrell said.
California Highway Patrol said the tow truck belongs to Kilroy's Towing out of Grass Valley and the tanker transporting gasoline is owned by Williams Tank lines out of Stockton.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife spoke with Williams tank lines, which said the tanker was carrying approximately 8,400 gallons of gasoline at the time of the crash.
The California Highway Patrol said forest fires were not really a concern. However, the gasoline runoff from the tanker into the ditch next to the road, as well as a creek farther down the road raises environmental concerns. The Department of Fish and Wildlife was evaluating the situation.
"The number one thing is we want to mitigate the environmental impacts of the fuel, so we're going to allow it to burn, however long that takes," Farrell said.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The owner Kilroy's Towing said the driver was en route to a call and had been with the company for six or seven years.
Williams Tank Lines hand not responded in time for the broadcast.
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