Tanker Fire Shuts Down Parts Of 134 Freeway
A Caltrans spokesman at the scene of that overnight tanker truck fire says it’s still unclear how long the Ventura 134 Freeway will be closed at its junction with the Golden State 5 Freeway near Griffith Park.
Cleanup crews are still offloading the roughly 3,000 gallons of gasoline left in one of twin tankers that ruptured, leaving a trail of flames hundreds of feet long along westbound lanes just west of the Los Angeles River.
Sam Esquenazi of Caltrans says structural engineers have yet to inspect the elevated transition road from the westbound 134 to southbound 5, which was scorched by the gasoline-fueled inferno, but the main line of the 134 will not reopen until they deem it safe.
Transition roads from the Golden State 5 Freeway to the 134 also remain closed with no projected reopening time. The Zoo Drive onramps to the 5 Freeway also are closed.
Amazingly, authorities say no one was hurt. A collision with the sedan apparently triggered the tractor-trailer crash.
City News Service reports that the accident was reported shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday and some 150 firefighters had the blaze out by 12:30 a.m.
Los Angeles Fire spokesman Shawn Lenske says it’s hard to tell how long the cleanup would take.
Firefighters say about 6,000 gallons of fuel burned.
