New Mexico
Crews plan to extinguish fire Saturday night from train derailment near Arizona-New Mexico line
LUPTON, Ariz. (AP) — Crews plan to extinguish a fire on Saturday night from a freight train derailment near the Arizona-New Mexico state line that forced the closure of a stretch of Interstate 40.
Some wreckage has been removed from the tracks, but about 35 rail cars remain, including a half-dozen rail cars that were carrying non-odorous propane and had caught fire, said Lawrence Montoya Jr., chief of fire and rescue in McKinley County, New Mexico.
No injuries were reported in the derailment Friday of the BNSF Railway train near Lupton, Arizona, though, as it turned out, the derailment happened on the New Mexico side of the tracks.
About 40 people living within a two-mile radius of the derailment site remain evacuated as a precaution as winds carried away thick smoke and local firefighting crews responded.
“We are hoping we can extinguish the fire before midnight,” Montoya said.
Once the fire is extinguished, any fuel that isn’t burned off and remains on the site also will be contained.
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 are closed around Holbrook, Arizona, and the westbound lanes of the interstate are closed at Grants, New Mexico.
Authorities say people should expect long delays and look for other routes or postpone travel in the area.
No dates have been specified for when that stretch of interstate will reopen. Montoya said he expects the interstate to remain closed until the fire is put out and hazardous materials are mitigated.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
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MOUNTAINAIR, N.M. — Three people are dead and more than a dozen first responders were quarantined and being treated Wednesday for exposure to an unidentified substance after being called to a suspected drug overdose at a rural New Mexico home, authorities said.
New Mexico State Police said three of the four people who were found unresponsive inside the home east of Albuquerque died. The fourth was being treated at a hospital in Albuquerque.
During the response, authorities said, 18 first responders were exposed to the substance and began experiencing symptoms including nausea and dizziness. All of the first responders were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where they were being monitored.
Two of the first responders were listed in serious condition, said Officer Wilson Silver with New Mexico State Police.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue Hazmat teams were assisting at the scene in Mountainair, a rural community east of Albuquerque, in efforts to identify the substance involved.
“At this time, investigators believe the substance may be transmitted through contact and do not believe it to be airborne,” Silver said.
While the investigation was ongoing, Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said in a social media post that all indications were pointing toward narcotics as a possible factor. He added that there was no threat to the public and that a perimeter had been set up around the home.
Residents, however, took to social media to voice their frustrations about drug use in the community and elsewhere.
The mayor said the town’s law enforcement officers and first responders work every day to protect the community and respond to difficult situations.
“But the reality is that addiction and substance abuse are issues affecting communities all across our state and nation,” Nieto said. “There is no simple or immediate solution. Lasting change requires family support, accountability, education, and most importantly, individuals who are willing to accept help.”
New Mexico
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