When we leave our home we cross railroad tracks about half way between our house and the farm where our son and his family live. The tracks are a spur line that goes from the mainline to two oil refineries that are on the coast south of Birch Bay. We can see the BP refinery at the end of our street and south of it is a Phillips 66 refinery. The tracks often have trains of 100 cars and more carrying crude oil to the refinery and refined fuels away from the refinery.

Then, after we leave the farm, we cross railroad tracks once again before we get to the freeway that connects Seattle and Vancouver BC. We drive on that freeway to get to church and to shopping in Bellingham. In addition to petroleum tank car trains, these tracks have a lot of coal train traffic. Coal trains operate around the clock hauling coal from the Black Thunder Coal Mine to a coal shipping port in Vancouver, British Columbia. Black Thunder is the nation’s largest coal mine with the largest working dragline in North America. That dragline is only one of six operated at the mine. The mine can load 20 to 25 trains per day and there is nonstop train traffic between the mine and the shipping terminal where the coal is sent overseas, primarily to Japan which is using coal as a temporary fuel for electricity generation in the wake of suspending all nuclear power production in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

After we had moved away from South Dakota and shortly before we moved into the home where we now live, I was working on a project at the farm one day when I noticed black smoke boiling into the air to the east of the farm. Our daughter-in-law reported to me that there had been a train derailment with a fire that had forced the closure of the interstate and the evacuation of the area near the fire. The farm was placed on notice to be prepared for evacuation should conditions warrant. We did not need to evacuate. The fire was more than a mile from the farm. However, the location of the derailment and the temporary closure of the Interstate meant that I had to take an alternate route to go back to our rental home in Mount Vernon that afternoon. Later I learned that the elementary school our grandchildren now attend was in the evacuation zone. The school was not in session on that day due to being closed during the pandemic. Ten tank cars had derailed just a short distance from the school and three caught on fire. The train was carrying crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to a local refinery. The fire was extinguished and people were allowed to return to their homes within 24 hours of the accident.

The accident raised our awareness of the dangers of living near railroad tracks where trains carry volatile substances.

On Tuesday night another derailment caused the closure of a local road. Portal Road, which runs parallel to the freeway and which we cross when going to and from the elementary school, was closed at the crossing near the school north for about a mile all day yesterday. The crossing we use was not affected by the closure. The accident occurred at about 10:45 pm on Tuesday night and we didn’t hear about it until yesterday morning. Six cars were derailed. They were carrying molten sulfur.

Fortunately, as was true of the fire and derailment in 2021, no one was injured in the incident.

What we are learning, however, is something that has been true all along. The transportation of dangerous substances is a dangerous business. Accidents and spills occur. While we now are familiar with local roads and know many different ways to go around the railroad crossings we use daily, we know that an accident that will disrupt our lives and could leave us needing to drive several miles out of our way to get between places we travel every day is possible. On the one hand, two accidents in three years may be an anomaly. There have been much longer periods without accidents. On the other hand, recent accidents are the result of both increased train traffic and aging tracks. It seems prudent to be prepared for possible future accidents.

The county sheriff and other local emergency responders have plans to coordinate responses with the Burlington Northern San Francisco Railroad, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board for the investigation of accidents and the making of plans to prevent future accidents.

Train derailments are dramatic events. Specialized equipment is required to clean up after an accident and it can take hours to get the equipment to an accident site. Damage to the tracks often results in the need for additional equipment to make repairs in order to get cranes and other equipment to the site. Containment of spilled substances and environmental cleanup can take a long time and serious damage can occur. Evacuations are sometimes necessary in order to keep people safe.

This week’s incident is a reminder to me that I need to learn the exact nature of how an evacuation of the school might take place. If students were bussed away from the school, I presume they might be taken to Ferndale where the district has more school buildings. It is important for parents and grandparents to know that information before an incident occurs. Confusion could easily cause trauma for students as they have to wait to be picked up and transported home after an incident. I seem to be able to find plenty of things to worry about in my retirement. Perhaps the extra time of being retired allows me to overthink and to worry a bit more than necessary. I seem to still be a novice at retirement. There is a lot more that I need to learn.

For now, we are all safe. We had a lovely family dinner last night to celebrate our oldest granddaughter’s tenth birthday. The train derailment was in a place that did not disrupt any of our activities. Still, it is a reminder that we need to be aware and prepared.