Trailer disconnects from semi, leaks fuel into Minocqua wetland
STAR JOURNAL REPORT
An estimated 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked out of a trailer Thursday morning along the Minocqua/Woodruff town line after the trailer disconnected from a semi truck on Hwy. J near Hwy. 51, said Minocqua police chief Dave Jaeger.
The incident, which was reported shortly after 5:45 a.m., involved a Ritchie Lakeland Oil and Propane truck driven by Michael Angelo Jendusa, 48, of Rhinelander. Upon the trailer disconnecting, Jaeger said the fuel leaked out of two holes in the front and into the storm sewer.
Local firefighters, Oneida County’s hazardous materials team, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the State Patrol were called to the scene, along with a drone from the Lakeland Airport being sent up to view the extent of the spill.
DNR warden David Walz said the hazardous materials team placed absorbent booms at a nearby wetland, where the fuel leaked, to contain the spill, and the company that owns the truck contacted REI out of Wausau to handle the environmental cleanup.
Jaeger said the investigation into the trailer disconnecting from the semi has been handed over to the State Patrol.
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