Oil tanker collision causes small leak, quarter-acre fire
A eucalyptus grove caught fire Monday morning after an oil tanker and another vehicle collided.
GAREY — A crude oil tanker truck overturned after colliding with a small vehicle at Dominion and Orcutt Garey roads around 4:30 a.m. Monday. A small leak of approximately half a gallon of oil was contained on site.
A quarter of an acre of eucalyptus grove caught fire, but the truck’s oil-carrying trailer remained unharmed from the flames. Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria City firefighters knocked down the fire within an hour.
The driver of the tanker got out of the truck and was unharmed, and the other was transported to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries.
Another truck arrived to carry the 6,000 gallons of crude oil to its destination.
— Annelise Hanshaw
