Hydraulic fluid, oil enter storm drains after truck fire

May 24—An intense fire involving a Recology garbage truck early Monday evening in Yuba City led to the spillage and cleanup of about 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid and 12 gallons of motor oil that made its way onto city streets and into storm drains, officials said.

According to Yuba City Fire Department Chief Jesse Alexander, the department was dispatched at about 5:30 p.m. to Bogue Road and Rapid Water Way because of a Recology garbage truck that caught fire.

Recology Yuba-Sutter General Manager Rigo Diaz said the vehicle was a residential route truck that was collecting curbside organics that caught fire. No one was injured.

"Immediately after becoming aware of the fire, the driver followed safety protocol and switched off the truck's fuel source and called 911," Diaz said in an email. "The fire department arrived within minutes and fully extinguished the fire. The truck was towed to Recology Yuba-Sutter's maintenance yard."

With "heavy fire involvement upon arrival," Alexander said the entire cab portion of the truck was destroyed. He also said because of the intensity of the blaze, a house nearby suffered minor damage.

"It was a lot of fire," Alexander said.

Alexander said that while the vehicle fire was extinguished relatively quickly, the resulting leakage of hydraulic fluid and motor oil required cleanup crews to remain at the site "well into the night."

He said a city "vac truck" was used to clean out the drains with the spilled fluids being found about 800 feet away from the initial site.

"We caught it before it got into the water," Alexander said. "Nothing did get into the river or anything along those lines."

Alexander said an absorbable substance akin to cat litter was used to help clean up the spilled fluid in the city streets.

"Cleanup crews employed by Recology helped lead cleanup activities and power washed the street," Diaz said.

Alexander said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

"With so much damage, it's going to be really hard to pinpoint exactly what happened," Alexander said.

Diaz said the maintenance and safety departments at Recology Yuba-Sutter are trying to determine the cause.

"At this time, it is unknown if the cause of the fire was electrical or mechanical," he said.