Hydrogen tank fire on truck in California leads to evacuations

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Updated Aug 30, 2018

Residents in Southern California were evacuated today after a truck carrying hydrogen tanks caught fire near a major interstate.

The California Highway Patrol reports that witnesses heard an explosion in Diamond Bar near I-60 around the time that a container filled with hydrogen tanks began burning on the back of a trailer, just west of State Route 57 (the Orange Freeway).

Firefighters kept their distance as they continued to hose down roughly 20 tanks to keep them cool near the intersection of South Brea Canyon Road and Golden Springs Drive. The Los Angeles County HazMat team was called to the blaze which broke out at around 1:20 p.m. Evacuations for residents began within a ½-mile radius of the fire about two hours later, according to nbclosangeles.com.

The fire was brought under control by 4 p.m. An explosive flash-fire occurred during the blaze. The gas was produced by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.