Highway 199 was closed in both directions for multiple hours Thursday, April 28th, after a commercial motor vehicle tanker truck overturned between Gasquet and Hiouchi.
The tanker truck, with a separate attached tanker trailer carrying road tar, overturned just before noon on Thursday, within the Smith River National Recreation Area west of Gasquet and East of Middle Fork Gorge.
The trailer tanker reportedly struck a guardrail and power pole before rupturing with 2000 gallons of tar, later determined to be hot asphalt binder, spilling onto the roadway, covering both lanes.
Concerns that the spill could reach the Smith River were confirmed Thursday afternoon when authorities from Six Rivers National Forest confirmed material from the truck DID reach the Smith River, however, after learning more details about the spilled substance, the spread of liquid material in the river is expected to be minimal.
Contamination quickly became a concern for Hiouchi residents, and consequently, the river pumps for the Big Rock Water District were shut down as multiple agencies including Fish & Game, Caltrans, CHP, Cal OES and Del Norte Emergency services worked feverishly to maximize containment.
Highway 199 was closed in both directions beginning moments after the crash just before noon in a location offering no detours, with no estimate on re-opening, and remained closed until the California Highway Patrol announced that Highway 199 was open to one lane of traffic early Thursday afternoon at 3:15pm.
No further official information is available at this time.
