Highway Closed, People Evacuated After Gas Plant Fire


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Updated: 1/15 2:50 pm | Published: 1/15 12:30 pm
A fire triggered the evacuation of a propane distribution plant in Vernal on Jan. 15, 2013. (Deborah Tracy / Vernal Express, ABC 4)
A fire triggered the evacuation of a propane distribution plant in Vernal on Jan. 15, 2013. (Deborah Tracy / Vernal Express, ABC 4)
VERNAL (ABC 4 News) - A dangerous fire at a propane gas facility in eastern Utah was extinguished Tuesday afternoon, without causing any injuries or triggering major explosions.

Flames were spotted at Basin Propane in Vernal at approximately 10:30 a.m.  Due to the gas plant's potentially-explosive atmosphere, authorities evacuated everyone within a half-mile radius. Highway 40, which runs just a few hundred feet away from the plant, was also closed while firefighters battled the blaze.

A nearby school, Naples Elementary, still held classes because it wasn't in the evacuation zone.

By 2:00 p.m. firefighters had the fire under control and the evacuation was lifted. However, firefighters continued to look for hot spots to prevent the fire from re-igniting. Some power outages were also reported in the area around the plant.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.


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