4 buildings & 2 vehicles destroyed in oil tanker fire

Cal Fire responded to an oil tanker fire at an asphalt company on Monday morning after several drums of oil ignited.

The oil tanker caught fire at about 9:45 a.m. at the Skanska Plant, located on 88200 Fargo Canyon Road in the unincorporated area north of Indio. The plant is close to Dillon Road.

The fire sent dark black smoke billowing into the Coachella Valley sky.

Several oil drums ignited in the fire and Hydrogen Sulfide gas was sent airborne, according to officials. Nobody was injured in the fire. It took crews a little over an hour to douse the flames.

The Riverside County Hazardous Materials Team and the Palm Springs Fire Department’s Aiport Unit also responded to the scene.

Officials with Cal Fire said the blaze destroyed a 6,000-gallon tanker semi truck, a pickup truck carrying acetylene and oxygen tanks in the bed, a storage container for rubber pallets, and three containers holding 250 gallons of diesel fuel, heating oil, and an unknown product.

In total, four commercial buildings and two vehicles were destroyed, four commercial buildings were damaged, and three commercial buildings were threatened, Cal Fire said in the release.

Roads were closed around the plant while firefighters attacked the blaze. Fire officials were on scene until about 2 p.m. while they monitored the fire for any flare-ups.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 will have more information as the investigation continues.