Truck fire and hazardous materials accident lead to the closure of I-215 southbound for hours

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, June 19, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) – Hazmat crews spent hours Wednesday cleaning up a potentially toxic chemical leak after a truck fire shut down traffic on southbound I-215.

The fire near 5300 South was quickly brought under control at 5:35 p.m., but fluids leaking from the large freight truck kept crews busy, said Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol.

By 7 p.m., traffic was backed up from the end of the daily commute to 3500 South.

The truck driver was uninjured, Roden said, and the cause of the fire is not yet known.

According to Roden, the roadway was littered with leaked hydraulic fluid and oil, but the truck’s load did not appear to have leaked.

It took hours to tow the truck while Unified Fire Department hazardous materials specialists continued the cleanup, he said.

The southbound lanes of 1-215 were immediately closed at 4700 S., Roden said. The hundreds of vehicles trapped between the fire scene and the 4700 S. exit were slowly pushed back in the southbound lanes to the 4700 S. exit by police and UDOT emergency vehicles.

UDOT cameras showed that southbound traffic was flowing again as of 9 p.m.