A fuel tanker truck went off the road into Indian Creek, a tributary of the Elwha River, Friday morning west of Port Angeles.
The truck was holding an estimated 10,000 gallons of fuel when it crashed around 10:20 a.m., Washington State Patrol Trooper Katherine Weatherwax said. The fuel was leaking into the creek, she said.
It was unclear what type of fuel the truck was carrying. A spill response team from the state Department of Ecology arrived Friday afternoon.
The driver was taken to a Port Angeles hospital, Olympic Medical Center, as a precaution. He told first responders he suffered a medical emergency before driving off Highway 101, Weatherwax said.
The highway was blocked, Weatherwax said, and it may take hours before the vehicle is recovered.
The Clallam County sheriff’s office was asking nearby residents to evacuate because of the fumes, Weatherwax said.
The city of Port Angeles said in a news release it has temporarily shut down water treatment processing operations “out of an abundance of caution” and was asking people to conserve water. The Indian Creek Basin feeds into the Elwha River, the city’s main potable water source.
The reservoirs have enough water for about a day without interruption to normal service, according to the city.
