A quick response by Hoodland Fire District (HFD) personnel managed to contain a hot asphalt oil spill on Barlow Road that threatened the
pristine waters of the Sandy River.

Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office received a report at 2:30 p.m., June 24,
that a jack-knifed semi-truck was spilling hot asphalt into the Sandy River at
Barlow Road and Road 14.

HFD moved quickly to the scene.

“We didn’t want to pollute the river,” said HFD Chief Mic Eby at the site of the
spill. “After all, we live here.”

Using ropes, buckets and shovels, two HFD crews worked their way down the
steep embankment to the river’s edge where the hot asphalt was pooling in
the Sandy.

“We dammed it up with sand, gravel, rocks and logs,” said HFD firefighter
Nick Miller, standing on the road after the rescue had been made. “Oil got to
the river, but we kept it in a small area.”

As the trailer was being hauled up the embankment, more oil seeped toward
the river.

“Fortunately, we had built a berm at the river’s edge,” Eby said, the day after
the event. “That slowed the second oil spill. A small amount sneaked out but
the tar balls pooled. The important thing is the river is clear.”

The truck and trailer was being operated by Michael Banta, 47, of Brush
Prairie, Wash. The load was headed to the local gravel pit.

The Mountain Times received information there was a car that forced the
driver to steer to the road’s edge, but that report remains unconfirmed.

What is certain is the trailer veered off the road and dangled over the
embankment, all the while remaining hitched to the truck. That truck was
carrying 14 tons of liquid asphalt, according to the sheriff’s office.

The incident remains under investigation, and CCSO reports that the driver is
being cooperative.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) responded to the
location to determine the impact on the river.

Traffic was stopped on Barlow Road until after 6 p.m. the day of the incident.