Controlled Burn After Train Derailment: I-40 Reopens Near Arizona-new Mexico Border

LUPTON, Arizona (AP) – Interstate 40 reopened in both directions on Sunday as fire workers continued to monitor a controlled burn of residual fuel from a freight train derailment near the Arizona-New Mexico state boundary, according to a local fire chief.

The previous evacuation orders have finally been removed.

“It’s all under control,” stated Fire Chief Lawrence Montoya Jr. of McKinley County, New Mexico. “Our hazmat team is on-site, along with our well-trained firefighters.”

Montoya, the incident commander on the scene, stated that the controlled fires were still eating the residual fuel in some cars. He stated that no one was injured in the Friday derailment of the BNSF Railway train near Lupton, Arizona, which occurred on the New Mexico side of the rails, or during the subsequent firefighting effort.

For a while, the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 were closed near Holbrook, Arizona, while the westbound lanes were closed near Grants, New Mexico.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation said Sunday that motorists should continue to expect thick smoke in some locations, as well as extended delays that may force them to seek alternate routes or postpone their trip to the area. According to Montoya, firemen are still clearing debris from the area and repairing the tracks.

According to Montoya, the cause of the derailment was still under investigation on Sunday. He reported that investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and other federal authorities were on the site.