(The Amarillo Globe-News posted the following article on its website on September 17.)
AMARILLO, Texas — Flames that could have ignited dangerous materials on a freight train forced the Texas Department of Public Safety to close all lanes of U.S. Highway 60 between Pantex and Panhandle on Thursday morning.
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. freight train traveling west on tracks that parallel U.S. 60 about nine miles west of Panhandle caught fire, a DPS news release said.
The flames, which erupted about 9:15 a.m, were reported to have risen as high as 25 feet before they were extinguished, the release said.
Hazardous materials in some of the train’s containers led troopers to close U.S. 60 for one hour, the release said. The Pantex Fire Department and the Panhandle Fire Department responded to the fire.
The train left the damaged engine in Amarillo before heading for Los Angeles.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by BNSF officials.