Tanker Fire Shuts Down Highway 75 In Owasso

A truck fire shut down Highway 75 in Owasso Saturday night.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed the northbound lanes at 116th Street North and the southbound lanes at 126th Street North. 

The truck was a QuikTrip fuel tanker. Burning fuel ran out of the truck and into the grass along the highway, setting it afire. 

According to the OHP, the incident started as a brake issue on the trailer. The brake overheated and caused the tire to catch fire. Because it happened in a rural area, it took some time for fire crews to arrive. 

By the time they did, the tanker itself had started to burn. It contained 8,500 gallons of unleaded gasoline. 

No one was hurt. Firefighters are fighting this in a defensive manner, meaning they just let it burn and made sure it doesn’t spread. 

It did cause a grass fire, but that is contained. The OHP expected the road to be closed in both directions until about 2 a.m. One lane was open by Sunday morning. Both lanes were reopened 9.5 hours after the fire, according to OHP.

The fire produced flames and fireballs stretching 20 to 30 feet in the air.