West Yellowstone: Fuel Tanker Spills 4,800 Gallons of Gasoline Near Yellowstone

In a repeat of a 2020 incident, the National Park Service is working to clear a fuel spill near Yellowstone National Park before thousands of gallons of gasoline leak into a nearby waterway.

In the early morning hours of Aug.19, a fuel tanker truck lost control and rolled over near mile marker 16 on U.S. Hwy 191, a section of highway that runs through the western portion of Yellowstone National Park.

U.S. Highway 191 runs through the U.S. from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. In Yellowstone, the highway runs from West Yellowstone past Old Faithful and through the South Entrance into Grand Teton National Park and Jackson.

An estimated 4,800 gallons of unleaded fuel spilled as a result. However, it is unknown if any entered nearby Grayling Creek.

Grayling Creek runs through the northwestern corner of Yellowstone, just north of West Yellowstone. The creek is named for the Arctic grayling, a freshwater fish functionally extinct in the park since 1930. Biologists have since undertaken reintroduction efforts with some success.

Currently, the southbound lane of U.S. Highway 191 is blocked but passable in both directions with traffic control in place. Nevertheless, motorists should anticipate delays.

National Park Service crews responded immediately. Mitigation cleanup efforts are ongoing.

There were no injuries related to the turnover. This incident remains under investigation, and – as of Monday, August 22 – the park has no additional information to release.

Yellowstone thanks those who responded to the scene of the spill, including Hebgen Basin Fire and E.M.S. units, cleanup and mitigation contractors, and N.P.S. staff.

Courtesy: National Park Service

There have been two fuel tanker spills in the Yellowstone region in the past two years.

Almost two years ago – August 27, 2020 – a fuel tanker spilled nearly 3,000 gallons of gasoline in the park. The spill occurred on the road between Fishing Bridge Junction and Mud Volcano.

That section of road was briefly closed as N.P.S. crews cleaned the area. Luckily, none of the fuel found its way into the nearby Yellowstone River.