CASSELTON, ND. (KFGO-AM) A year ago today, a train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed, spilling 400,000 gallons of crude and igniting fires and explosions about a mile from Casselton, prompting the evacuation of about two-thirds of the town's 2,400 residents,
Ryan Toop was at his Casselton insurance office when the derailment happened. He got close enough to warm up his hands from the heat of the fires. He told KFGO News he was within 800 feet of the fire before the explosions started. He says it was an "incredible ball of flames."
Senator Heidi Heitkamp agreed said if there was any good news in the disaster, it was out in the middle of a field and the spill eventually ended up in a ditch because the ground was frozen. She told a community meeting following the derailment, "there isn't anyone who doesn't say what if that was in my community, what would we do."
Heitkamp and others have led the charge in calling for increased safety standards for tank cars carrying the volatile oil to make sure similar accidents don't happen again.