DUNSMUIR, Calif. — Twenty cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Friday in Northern California’s Siskiyou County near the site of a 1991 derailment that spilled chemicals into the Sacramento River, leading to a massive kill-off of fish and health problems for those who responded to the accident.
The Sacramento Bee reports no spills were reported from this accident, with a Union Pacific spokeswoman saying no injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.
The derailment disrupted Amtrak’s Coast Starlight service, leading to a bus bridge between Redding, Calif., and Klamath Falls, Ore., on Saturday. The Starlight had only resumed full-route service on Monday, Aug. 23, after a lengthy service interruption because of fire damage in Northern California and bridge work along the state’s central coast [see “Coast Starlight to resume full-route operation …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 13, 2021].
The Bee reports the derailment sparked memories of the July 14, 1991, Southern Pacific sent a pesticide called metam sodium into the river, killing an estimated 1.1 million fish. The railroad spent $10 million improving its rail line after the accident and, along with the owners of the railcar and chemical company involved, reached a $38 million settlement with the state of California.
