Fire!

[pipistrelle]

The blaze broke out on the building’s copper roof during renovations, and police said it was too early to say what caused it.

My first thought is roofers, which is too often the case. Flammable materials.

[RTH10260]

another overpass gone ...

Large Tanker Fire Prompts Closure of I-95 in Norwalk

Storyful
Thu, May 2, 2024 at 8:14 PM GMT+2

A petroleum truck crashed and ignited a large fire under an overpass on Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Thursday morning, May 2, prompting the closure of both northbound and southbound lanes of the freeway, officials said.

The crash also involved a passenger vehicle and a tractor-trailer truck, Governor Ned Lamont told a press conference.

The fuel truck was carrying 8,500 gallons of petroleum, fire officials said.

Scott Hill, chief engineer for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, said the blaze caused damage to the bridge above it.

According to ABC 7 NY and Fox 61, fire officials said the bridge sustained extensive damage and would be demolished within the next 48 hours.

Lamont urged travelers to avoid the Norwalk area as the freeway shutdown was causing “horrendous” traffic jams.




https://www.yahoo.com/news/large-tanker ... 18043.html

(original: Storyful)

[johnpcapitalist]

another overpass gone ...

Large Tanker Fire Prompts Closure of I-95 in Norwalk

Storyful
Thu, May 2, 2024 at 8:14 PM GMT+2

A petroleum truck crashed and ignited a large fire under an overpass on Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Thursday morning, May 2, prompting the closure of both northbound and southbound lanes of the freeway, officials said.

According to ABC 7 NY and Fox 61, fire officials said the bridge sustained extensive damage and would be demolished within the next 48 hours.

Lamont urged travelers to avoid the Norwalk area as the freeway shutdown was causing “horrendous” traffic jams.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/large-tanker ... 18043.html

(original: Storyful)

I got caught up in this mess on my way to a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. My partner called me to warn me, but there was no way around the massive gridlock -- the doctor's office is right in the middle of the chaos.

This was a study in the downside of GPS in action: there's a relatively straightforward detour on about one mile of major surface streets around the mess, but because Norwalk is an older New England town, those major roads are all one lane and there are a lot of traffic lights involved. Thus, the obvious detour that the GPS suggests quickly gridlocked as bad as I-95 itself.

When that happens, Google Maps quickly starts plotting out alternate routes. It started taking people on secondary surface streets through the compact downtown area, which features narrow streets and some tight hairpin-like turns. Unfortunately, some trucking companies don't provide their drivers with commercial GPS's with a database that will route drivers away from turns they can't make. So the secondary streets through downtown quickly also gridlocked as trucks were backing and filling to get through a couple of the turns.

I don't know where the Norwalk PD was in all of this. Norwalk has a decent sized police force (90,000 population) and they're usually on top of things like this, but I didn't see evidence of any attempt to expedite traffic by overriding traffic signals, etc. Literally zero police presence. For a significant cataclysm with regional implications, if they were overwhelmed with other stuff, I would have expected that they might call in either the State Police or mutual aid from other local departments. The long-term, popular mayor of Norwalk was formerly the police chief, so this was doubly surprising.

[Volkonski]

Wildfire in Canada forces thousands to evacuate as smoke causes dangerous air quality

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfire-c ... r-quality/

Thousands of residents from a Canadian town are being urged to evacuate amid a fast-growing wildfire that has resulted in poor air quality and reduced visibility.

The blaze in northeastern British Columbia started Friday and almost doubled in size by the following day, reaching about 4,200 acres. BC Wildfire Service maps showed the fire burning just a few miles west of Fort Nelson's city limits. Fort Nelson is located in the far northeastern corner of British Columbia, about 995 miles from Vancouver. Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson Indian Reserve have a combined population of about 3,000.

The wildfire smoke coming from British Columbia is causing widespread poor air quality and reduced visibility, a Sunday alert said.

Online footage shared by locals from the Fort Nelson wildfire showed thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky, with houses in the foreground. In some photos, haze seemed to cover wide areas.

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nation issued a joint statement warning people choosing to stay that "emergency medical services are not available, nor are groceries or other amenities."

[MN-Skeptic]

There's an air quality alert for Minnesota today from those wildfires. The wind will be blowing the smoke down from the north during the day.

[zekeb]

There's an air quality alert for Minnesota today from those wildfires. The wind will be blowing the smoke down from the north during the day.

Smoke advisory for my location tomorrow.

[AndyinPA]

I read those fires are just picking up from where they ended last year.

[RTH10260]

Against foreign incursion, just build a wall

[MN-Skeptic]

After a high of 87° today, it's cooled down to 68° by 11pm. Unfortunately, the air quality in the Twin Cities is horrible from the Canadian wildfires. Check out the government's Fire and Smoke map site. It takes a few moments to load, so be patient. Then you can search for a city.

[Kendra]

Glad my commute didn't include I405 this morning. Yikes!

https://komonews.com/news/local/renton- ... ent-auburn#

RENTON, Wash. — A semi-truck fire caused by a hit-and-run fully blocked all northbound Interstate 405 lanes near Northeast Park Drive/State Route 900 in Renton Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred shortly after 6 a.m., when an older green Honda Civic reportedly cut off the semi driver near milepost 5, according to Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson.

"What we determined was there was a green, older Honda Civic that caused the semi to strike the barrier, which consequently caught on fire," Johnson said. "Initially, the driver — what we didn’t know — got out of the vehicle and separated himself, so when the fire department was there putting the fire out, they assumed the driver was still inside. Thankfully, we found the driver. We’re still looking for that green Honda Civic."

Johnson said on X at 6:37 a.m. that it was a fatal incident, but at 6:53 a.m. said the "driver was spoken to and there were no others in truck so this is NOT a fatality." The semi-truck was carrying "some kind of concrete product," Johnson said.

Photos: https://komonews.com/news/local/gallery ... rn?photo=1

[Maybenaut]

Glad my commute didn't include I405 this morning. Yikes!

"What we determined was there was a green, older Honda Civic that caused the semi to strike the barrier, which consequently caught on fire," Johnson said. "Initially, the driver — what we didn’t know — got out of the vehicle and separated himself, so when the fire department was there putting the fire out, they assumed the driver was still inside. Thankfully, we found the driver. We’re still looking for that green Honda Civic."

So, it was the barrier that caught on fire as a consequence of being stricken by the truck?

[Kendra]

Glad my commute didn't include I405 this morning. Yikes!

"What we determined was there was a green, older Honda Civic that caused the semi to strike the barrier, which consequently caught on fire," Johnson said. "Initially, the driver — what we didn’t know — got out of the vehicle and separated himself, so when the fire department was there putting the fire out, they assumed the driver was still inside. Thankfully, we found the driver. We’re still looking for that green Honda Civic."

So, it was the barrier that caught on fire as a consequence of being stricken by the truck?

Good point, that went over my head.

[Shizzle Popped]

I loved Seattle but the traffic could be horrific on a good day and there aren't many good options for detours when something like this happens. Ugh.

[Kendra]

I loved Seattle but the traffic could be horrific on a good day and there aren't many good options for detours when something like this happens. Ugh.

No lie. I am so glad I live south of this. Man, the week when the Chinese President was visiting here during the Obama admin, 'cause once the motorcade was getting underway they shut down the route. His last day was a trip from the Microsoft Campus (eastside) to a church or school or whatever it was in Tacoma area (Pierce County) on a Friday afternoon was a mess. I was watching the traffic cams, once it was clear he was on his way to Tacoma mid-afternoon, I bailed work and got home in time and then watched the gridlock on the DOT website. It was bad.

[Foggy]

Off Topic

I'm coming to Seattle for a few days next month.