On April 13, 2022, EPA received a report of a large
fire at a fuel service and storage
location in Medford, Oregon. The reporting party indicated the
fire had been extinguished, but concerns that approximately 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel stored in above ground storage tanks and over 12,000 gallons of lubricant oil may have been
released due to the fire. Oil was confirmed to have entered the storm drains and was
impacting a nearby waterway, Bear Creek. Bear Creek is a tributary of Rogue River and provides important habitat to steelhead, salmon, and lamprey, some of which are actively spawning .
The
Medford Fire Department and several other local agencies including Medford Police, Medford Public Works, and
surrounding partner fire agencies responded to the scene. Local
officials issued evacuation orders; status and population affected is unknown.
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) sent a State On-Scene
Coordinator (SOSC) to the incident and requested EPA support.
EPA deployed a Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC), a Planning Section Chief (PSC), and START contractors to the incident on April 13th, 2022.
