White Lightning Axiom: Redux

It's been quite some time since we have had an tanker blow up on the local arteries. I suppose we were due.

PLYMOUTH - A truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline overturned on the northbound on-ramp to the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and sparked a massive fire visible from miles away Monday morning.
The incident snarled traffic in time for rush hour, closing Plymouth Road and the ramp itself.
Witnesses told police the driver, who was heading uphill at the time of the incident, was travelling at a high rate of speed when the fuel truck capsized at approximately 8:30 a.m.

Yep, sounds about right. Trucker with a load of highly explosive material going too fast on a major traffic bearing artery. We had a major crack-down on trucking traffic in the Philly area a few years ago when we had a series of deadly and expensive accidents involving semi trucks. It stopped after a bit since it was costly to keep all those troopers on the roads around Philly. The problem went away soo ... yeah.

Once extinguished, fire crews discovered the extent of the damage.
"It melted the truck," said Kevin P. Lawrence, chief of the Harmonville Fire Co., "there was hardly anything left."
Though pure gasoline can burn at temperatures of 3,000 degrees, according to Scott Mickalonis, special operations coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, molten aluminum provided the best estimate of the minimum heat at 1,220 degrees.
"It was a hot fire," Mickalonis said.

Hmmm, the fire was hot. I'll wager he is kicking himself for having that quote attributed to him.

Some fire crews waited more than 150 feet away from the blaze due to the intense heat as trucks assembled at the scene, Lawrence said.

Mmmm, pass the marshmallows please.

With fire crews battling the blaze, police tried to keep at least some traffic moving through nearby streets. The job was hampered by curious motorists.
"The biggest problem we had was people stopping on the roadway to watch the fire," said Sgt. Karen Mabry of the Plymouth Township Police Dept.

I wonder if they could issue a 'Shoot on Sight' directive for rubber-neckers.

The fire did not appear to cause damage to the concrete roadway, said Hampton of the Turnpike Commission.
Other experts said that if the fire had occurred on asphalt or on a bridge, much more extensive repairs may have been required. Those repairs, if needed, would range from simply repaving the road to replacing steel girders.

This reminds me of the Great Tire Fire under Interstate 95 back in 1996. There, the highway actually melted and had to be replaced. made me quit my job since it was taking me 3 hours to get home in the evening. Yeah, it sucked.