Crude oil spill disrupts traffic

An inadvertent oil spill caused a lot of stress for local and state officials as well as drivers. Wednesday afternoon at 3:36 p.m. the Alva Fire Department was notified of a large oil spill on US64 between 13th and 14th streets. When firefighters arrived, they identified the substance as crude oil sludge that had been lost from a truck on the highway.

Local officials shut down traffic in the two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane of the highway. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) were notified.

Meanwhile the Alva Street Department hauled multiple loads of sand to soak up the spill and keep it from spreading.

The trail of crude oil sludge was followed west on US64 from 13th Street to County Road 370 where the driver turned south. The trail continued to Avard and then two miles west on Ellis Road. The truck was located at a disposal facility west of Avard. Alva Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Miller said the oil trail was about 15 miles long.

After the quick action by local departments, the removal of the mess is being handled under the oversight of the DEQ and OCC with ODOT providing traffic control.

Until the mess is cleared, drivers have to deal with a one-way traffic flow as they wait for their turn to travel through the area.