Emergency Incident Report – Aviation Fuel Tanker Spill at Half a Moon Creek
The Province’s webpage for the spill:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/spills-environmental-emergencies/spill-incidents/motor-vehicle-incident-dease-lake
Incident Details:
- Location Coordinates: 58.6506, -130.0163
- A two-tanker truck carrying 60,000L of aviation fuel (30,000L per tank) veered into a ditch.
- Tank 1: Sustained a 4-foot hole – considered a total loss.
- Tank 2: Has a minor leak and continues to release product slowly.
- Driver: Safe, no injuries reported.
Emergency Responders On Scene:
- RCMP
- Fire Department
- Ambulance
- Lake District Highway Contractor
Timeline:
- Environmental Emergency Branch was notified at 17:25 on June 5, 2025.
Latest updates
The following is an update on Site activity from yesterday afternoon.
- EFI arrived in Dease Lake at approximately 2:00 pm and notified BC environment , then travelled to Site, arriving at approximately 2:30 pm.
- Henry was on Site awaiting KPI to arrive but there was a miscommunication regarding the time of arrival. KPI was not scheduled to be onsite until later in the evening to remove the tractor.
- A site tour was conducted with BC Environment and they highlighted their concerns regarding subsurface migration and the proximity to Half Moon Creek.
- Initial inspections indicated no hydrocarbon present entering the creek. Henry flew the drone through the culvert and indicated there was no visual hydrocarbon sheen observed in the culvert. No hydrocarbon was identified in the water.
- Once the initial Site inspection was conducted, Beverly, President of the Tahltan First Nation arrived for a Site inspection at approximately 2:45 pm. Discussions with Beverly and BC Environment indicated their main concern is determining the extent of migration toward Half Moon Creek and addressing the risk of migration due to potential rain events.
- BC Environment is meeting with the Tahltan First Nation on June 10, 2025 to discuss the status of the Site and address any further concerns they may have.
- Soil sampling was conducted by EFI and Esker Consulting to delineate the impact, assess background levels and determine waste classification for disposal of the material.
- On June 10, we are aiming to mobilize a hydrovac to Site to begin subsurface investigation of the impacted area to aid in determining if subsurface migration has occurred and provide an estimate of the volume of material to be removed. Further emergency response works are planned, and detailed below.
EFI is planning to conduct further emergency response activities at Site to remove highly impacted soil from the Hwy ditch and shoulder in order to mitigate the increased risk of migration over the coming weeks due to the large volume of fuel released during the incident and the potential for further migration due to forecast precipitation. Removing this material now will significantly reduce potential impact to nearby Half Moon Creek and Dease Lake and negate potential Site access restrictions in the coming months due to potential wildfires in the area.
A BC 1 Call will be conducted to determine if services are located in the area, and if so, services will be daylighted prior to excavation. Once required permitting approvals are obtained, EFI will use an excavator to remove impacted material from the Hwy ditch and shoulder areas, then poly will be laid and the area will be backfilled and compacted with clean fill. Traffic control will utilize SLAT to enable equipment to work in the northbound and southbound lanes as needed. Sampling will be conducted to delineate impact on Site prior to backfilling.
Due to the proximity of the ditch to Hwy 37, excavation extents will be determined based on the Ministry of Transportation and Transit requirements to preserve the integrity of the Hwy prism.
Author: Scott West, EFI Global
The following is an update on site activities to date.
- Contractors completed transloading of both trailers yesterday evening without incident and received permission from Transport Canada to transport the trailers offsite. The contractor will be returning to site this afternoon to collect the tractor, which will also be transported offsite today.
- EFI Global staff have been delayed getting to Site due to airline baggage but are on route to Dease Lake today. The Site Assessment will commence tomorrow.
- I notified Henry Dyck via email of the delay and let him know he would be contacted if EFI made it to Site today, which is unlikely. Oversight will be required tomorrow from Henry.
- EFI will be conducting further water sampling in Half Moon Creek and Dease lake during the Site Assessment and the samples will be analyzed for impact.
- EFI is currently planning further actions that aim to mitigate potential impact to Half Moon Creek and Dease Lake as part of this Emergency Response phase and I will update you once they are finalized.
Author: Scott West, Senior Project Manager, EFI Global
Emergency Response activities were completed by the Hazmat Rescue Team from the Red Chris Mine who arrived on scene around 10:30pm on June 5. The team assessed the Site and started containment. The team confirmed no fuel has leaked into any waterways and built containment (installed pads/booms/bund) to prevent migration to any waterways. The larger spill area was identified behind one of the trailers on flat ground and the team built containment around the area and installed absorbents on top of the free phase fuel.
The team also was able to stop/significantly minimize the fuel leak from the lead tanker breathing valve and set up trays/barrel to allow very small drips to accumulate into sufficient secondary containment.
KPI Northern/Northern Environmental Services are attending Site this morning with hydrovac trucks to remove the free phase fluid from Site. Personnel from the Ministry of Environment are attending Site at 3pm today.
We have sourced a hazmat certified contractor to complete stinger recovery of the fuel in the lead trailer while following the required transfer procedures. Once this has been done, the recovery of the tractor and trailer can be completed. EFI will be attending the scene in the next few days to conduct a Site Assessment, likely once the recovery has been completed.
Please be advised of the following update to this incident as of 09:30hrs today:
- Hwy 37 is open to single lane, alternating traffic
- response contractors were on site late last night and patched the leaking tank
- soil booms and spill pads have been deployed to clean up free product
- additional equipment to assist the response is expected to arrive at mid-day today
- crews to assist the product transfer from the pup are still enroute
- two ENV Response Officers are enroute, arriving onsite today
Further information will be provided as available.
Author: Matt King, Newmont
All, I just want to provide the closing note from our ERT team from the scene to keep everyone aware of the efforts and aligned on the outcomes from site support. The following was received at 0023hrs this morning at which time the team was relieved of their duty and handed over to the fire Chief. We are very proud of the capability and professionalism from our team and glad we could support in this instance.
The Red Chris Mine Rescue Team arrived on scene around 10:30pm. Assessed and started containment.
In the last 2 hours the team has confirmed no fuel has leaked into water ways, they have built containment to prevent any possible leaks into water ways. Also confirmed fuel will be soaked up by soil and not migrate downslope without hitting the containment.
The larger spill was behind one of the trailers on flat ground and the team built containment, however given flat surface, we do not believe the spilled fuel will migrate.
The team also was able to stop or significantly minimize the fuel leak from the tanker that still have fuel and set up trays/barrel to allow very small drips to accumulate.
As of 12:03am, the containment for the spill is complete and leaks are either stopped or significantly minimized to a drip and into sufficient secondary containment until tomorrow.
The team discussed with Dease Lake fire chief who will remain on scene for a bit longer as the fire chief indicated there is a spill response team coming from Watson Lake. We have left additional absorbent materials with the fire chief in case although we are confident the containment and leak stopper will hold. The Dease Lake fire chief can leave the scene if Watson Lake team does not show up in an hour or so just for his/her fatigue management.
As of 12:25am, the RCM team has relieved from the scene and is heading back to site.