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Experts "Hot Tap" Lincoln Tanker Car Fire To Drain Propane

LINCOLN (CBS13/AP) – A special team of experts flown in from Texas have drilled a hole in a burning rail car in Placer County in the first step of a bold plan to try to prevent a catastrophic explosion in the town of Lincoln.

Experts in dealing with propane fires flew in overnight from Texas and performed what is called a "hot tap" just after noon.

A "hot tap" is a dangerous procedure where crews use a special tool to drill a hole and insert a pipe in a tank that is still under pressure.

Crews will now siphon off the propane into a manmade ditch that is being dug right now. The propane will then be burned off safely in the "pond". Officials say that will begin about 5:00 this evening.

RAW: Aerials of Lincoln Tanker Fire

Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt says without offloading the propane, the fire could burn for an estimated 21 days. However, they are optimistic that the experts from Texas will be able to stabilize the situation within 24-48 hours.

Meanwhile, the mandatory evacuation order of 4,800 homes and businesses in downtown Lincoln will remain in effect until at least Thursday.

The 29,000-gallon tanker loaded with liquid propane caught fire midday on Tuesday at a Northern Propane Energy yard in Lincoln. It is attached to two more cars loaded with 60,000 gallons of propane. The storage yard contains up to 500,000 gallons of propane.

Firefighters set up five fixed hoses soaking tanker with 5,000 gallons of water per minute to keep its temperature down as the propane burns off.

"Quite frankly, we are very lucky," Whitt said. "We were really able to put a dent in the progression of the fire."

Trying to directly extinguish the flames shooting into the air from a vent could create a propane gas cloud that could ignite into a fireball, Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.

"Let's just say there is no room for mistake here. We are really teetering on the edge of any moment explosion could occur," said Berlant. "It would be a very massive explosion causing structural damage, infrastructure damage throughout that area."

Officials have created a 1-mile evacuation radius which includes a parts of Lincoln on both sides of Highway 65. Areas currently being evacuated include everything NE of Highway 65 & Ferrari Ranch road all the way to the northern City Limit, east of Joiner Parkway, south of Nicolaus Road and north of First Street.

Meanwhile, the American Red Cross has set up three evacuation centers to help people whose homes are inside the mandatory evacuation area.

The shelters are located at the Lincoln Community Center at 1st & Joiner, or Club Lincoln within Lincoln Crossing at 830 Groveland Lane. Residents east of Highway 65 are being evacuated to Kilaga Springs Lodge at 1167 Sun City Boulevard.

Family members can find if out if their family members are at shelters at www.safeandwell.org or 1.800.REDCROSS.

Wednesday was scheduled to be the first day of class for the 11 schools in Lincoln, but the fire forced the cancellation. At Wednesday's update, Western Placer Unified School Superintendent Scott Leaman said the schools will be closed all week and they hope to start classes on Monday.

Highway 65, a major commuter thoroughfare between Sacramento and Lincoln, was closed Tuesday near the blaze, the California Highway Patrol said. Authorities didn't know when the road would reopen.

It was unclear how the tanker caught fire. A worker who was tending to the tanker was hurt and transported to a local hospital, although details on the extent of the injuries weren't available.

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