Tag: commercial bypass

WE BEGIN WITH BREAKING NEWS. THAT BREAKING NEWS IS OUT OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY. A TANKER TRUCK CRASH HAS SHUT DOWN A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE TO THE BAY AREA. IT’S CREATED A MASSIVE BACKUP. IT WAS CARRYING A HIGHLY FLAMMABLE LOAD. SO IT’S BEEN A VERY DELICATE OPERATION TO CLEAR THAT SCENE. SO THIS IS NOW GOING INTO ITS SIXTH HOUR. IT’S HAPPENING WHERE? 205 AND 580 MERGED NEAR TRACY AND MOUNTAIN HOUSE. YOU CAN SEE THE BACKUP IS GOING FOR MILES, AND IT HAS BEEN FOR HOURS. PEOPLE CRAWLING THROUGH THE TRAFFIC ON THEIR WAY HOME FROM WORK. THE TRAFFIC IS ALL THE WAY, BACKED UP TO LIVERMORE FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING EASTBOUND, AND IT IS BACKED UP THERE FROM GRANT LINE THERE IN TRACY FOR THOSE GOING WESTBOUND, THAT OVERTURNED TRAILER IS FILLED WITH ETHANOL, SO CREWS CAN’T UPRIGHT THE TRAILER UNTIL ALL OF THAT IS SAFELY OFFLOADED INTO ANOTHER TANK. WE KNOW THAT TRAILER ARRIVED JUST AFTER 5:00, SO TWO HOURS NOW FOR JUST THAT PART OF THE OPERATION. LIVECOPTER3 PILOT DAN OPPENHEIM HAS BEEN FLYING ABOVE THIS FOR HOURS NOW, SO, DAN, LET’S DESCRIBE FIRST OF ALL WHAT YOU’RE SEEING. ARE THEY MAKING ANY PROGRESS? YES, WE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND THE PROGRESS THAT WE ARE WITNESSING, IT IS SUBTLE, BUT THERE ARE CERTAINLY STEPS THAT ARE ON THE CRITICAL PATH THAT ARE OCCURRING. THEY DO HAVE ANOTHER TANKER IN JUST HAVING ANOTHER TANKER EVEN ARRIVE ON SCENE IS NO EASY FEAT. WHEN YOU HAVE BACKUPS FOR MILES IN ALL DIRECTIONS. SO THEY HAVE MANAGED TO GET A TANKER ON SCENE AND THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING TO EMPTY THIS OVERTURNED TANKER FOR CLOSE TO TWO HOURS. NOW. TANKER OF THAT VOLUME IS GOING TO TAKE QUITE A BIT OF TIME TO EMPTY OUT. SO ONCE THAT IS COMPLETE THEN WE DO HAVE A TOW TRUCK OR A WRECKER THAT WILL BE ABLE TO WRITE THAT AND THEN REMOVE THE TRUCK THAT IS BLOCKING THE HIGHWAY. SO WE’LL CONTINUE TO WATCH AND SEE HOW THAT PROGRESSES. WE’LL KEEP REPORTING BACK TO YOU. JUST NOT. ALL RIGHT. AND DAN, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE TRAFFIC SITUATION. WHAT ARE YOU SEEING FROM YOUR VANTAGE POINT. BECAUSE I’M SEEING A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET AROUND THIS, AND WE’RE ACTUALLY SEEING CRASHES ON SOME OF THOSE SIDE ROADS WHERE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET AROUND THIS. WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY ACCIDENTS ON THE SIDE ROADS NECESSARILY, BUT WE DO HAVE CONGESTION. IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE ANY OF THE SIDE ROADS ARE REALLY MOVING. THEY ARE JUST CRAWLING ALONG AT A SNAIL’S PACE. BUT THIS IS A MAJOR CHOKE POINT. IT IS A MAJOR ARTERY CONNECTING THE CENTRAL VALLEY TO THE BAY AREA, AND WHEN THAT’S BLOCKED THROUGH RUSH HOUR, WE WILL HAVE SOME MAJOR BACKUPS IN PLACES LIKE MOUNTAIN HOUSE AND TRACY ESPECIALLY. WE CAN’T SEE ALL THE WAY INTO LIVERMORE, BUT WHAT WE CAN SEE IS STOPPED TRAFFIC GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE ALTAMONT PASS. YOU KNOW, I’M CURIOUS IF WE COULD PUT THE OVERLAY ON, BUT TO SHOW THE EXACT ROAD THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT. BUT I BELIEVE. YEAH, HERE WE ARE. WE’RE FACING TOWARD. IS THAT TOWARD STOCKTON, EDIE, THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW? IT LOOKS LIKE GRANT LINE ROAD RIGHT THERE, WHICH IS A ROAD THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GETTING OFF ON AND GOING AROUND. BUT YEAH, THE CAMERA IS POINTED TOWARD THE WEST, TOWARD LIVERMORE, THROUGH THE ALTAMONT PASS, AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THOSE WHITE LIGHTS RIGHT THERE. THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STOPPED ON THE ROAD WHO ARE TRYING TO GET HOME FROM THE BAY AREA. BUT THIS ROAD, THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE 1:00 THIS AFTERNOON. AND JUST CONFIRMING, DAN, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO WE’RE SEEING DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW WHO HAVE BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME, JUST STUCK FOR HOURS AND HOURS. THAT IS CORRECT. THEY HAVE MANAGED TO MOVE THE VEHICLES THAT WERE IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THIS AND THAT I’M GUESSING IS OUT OF ABUNDANCE OF SAFETY. HOWEVER, THERE ARE THERE ARE CARS THAT HAVE BEEN STATIONARY FOR HOURS. YEAH, THIS HAS GOT TO BE SO FRUSTRATING FOR PEOPLE JUST STUCK IN THAT. THE OTHER THING, AND YOU MENTIONED AGAIN, THIS IS A PRETTY VOLATILE SITUATION FOR THE CREWS THAT ARE AROUND THAT ACTUAL TANKER. ARE YOU SEEING PEOPLE TAKING PRECAUTIONS THERE? THE EMERGENCY WORKERS THEMSELVES, JUST TO MAKE SURE THEY’RE NOT IN ANY KIND OF HARM’S WAY. THE WORKERS. CLEARING THE CLEARING THE SITE DO HAVE EMERGENCY VEHICLES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. THERE ARE VARIOUS HAZMAT AND FIRE VEHICLES IN THE AREA, AND THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING CLOSE TO THIS TANKER DO HAVE APPROPRIATE PPE. OKAY. AND IF WE DO LOOK AT THAT SHOT TOWARD THE TOP OF THE SHOT RIGHT THERE, YOU DO SEE A FIRE TRUCK. THERE WAS AN AMBULANCE OUT THERE EARLIER. THEY’RE THERE JUST IN CASE SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN. BUT I HAVE COVERED ACCIDENTS IN THE PAST OF TANKER TRUCKS. I’VE WITNESSED THEM. AND A TANKER TRUCK THAT GOES ON ITS SIDE. IT JUST TAKES ONE SPARK AND JUST THE MASSIVE FLAMES THAT COULD HAPPEN. AND THEY SHOOT ALL THE WAY UP THE ROAD, CAUSING A BIG CONCERN. SO THEY’RE NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES IN THIS SITUATION. BUT THEY’RE RIGHT THERE. YOU SEE THE FIRE TRUCKS, WHICH ARE ON ONE SIDE OF THE OVERPASS, AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OVERPASS, WE HAVE THE THE TANKER. AND WE ALSO THERE WERE TWO TANKS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. ONE TANK IS ON ITS SIDE, THE OTHER ONE, AND THE TRUCK ITSELF REMAINED UPRIGHT. DAN, JUST WE WE WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH BECAUSE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE STUCK IN THIS RIGHT NOW, WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE, THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR LOVED ONES WANT TO KNOW VERY SPECIFICALLY WHAT IS CAUSING THIS, WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE THAT’S HAVING SUCH A MASSIVE IMPACT ON SO MANY DRIVERS. AND SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE THIS VANTAGE POINT. IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE SEEING SOME KIND OF MAYBE ETHANOL THERE ON THE HIGHWAY. IS THAT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO YOU, DAN QUITE HONESTLY, I CAN’T TELL IF THAT’S WATER. I CANNOT TELL WHAT THAT IS. I SEE WHAT YOU’RE SEEING AS WELL, BUT IT’S HARD TO TELL FROM HERE. JUST HAS THAT SHEEN. EARLIER INITIAL REPORTS ON THE CHP COMMUNICATIONS PAGE SAID THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME SORT OF LEAK. WE DON’T KNOW IF THAT WAS EVER CONFIRMED, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT AT 2:00 THIS AFTERNOON, THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO. THEY WAS TALKS ABOUT DRAINING THAT TANK, WHICH HAD THE ETHANOL, THE GAS MIXTURE IN THERE, AND THERE WAS TALKS OF DRAINING IT, BUT IT TOOK SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE WE GOT A TANKER THERE ON SCENE TO START DRAINING THAT. AND YOU HAVE TO WONDER IF IT’S BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A LEAK, BUT OBVIOUSLY THEY FELT THAT THERE WAS A HAZARD HERE AND THEY WANTED TO TAKE IT VERY CAREFULLY. YEAH. AND DAN, YOU MENTIONED IT WAS HARD TO GET THAT TANKER IN BECAUSE TRAFFIC IS STOPPED ALL AROUND THIS SITUATION. WERE YOU ABLE TO SEE HOW THE HOW THEY MANAGED THAT? QUITE HONESTLY, I DID NOT SEE HOW THEY BROUGHT IT IN. I ONLY SAW THE TANKER ARRIVE AFTER IT WAS ON THE CLOSED SECTION OF HIGHWAY. IT STOOD OUT ONLY ONCE. IT WAS ON THE CLOSED SECTION OF HIGHWAY. RIGHT. SO ALLOWING JUST THAT, THAT ONE IN FOR EMERGENCY REASONS. DAN AGAIN THANK YOU. GREAT WORK.