Residents evacuated after train derails, leaks oil into Rock River near Doon

Still from drone footage of the oil spill taken by the Sioux County Sheriff's Office.
Still from drone footage of the oil spill taken by the Sioux County Sheriff's Office.

Already dealing with flooding from recent heavy rains, residents near the Little Rock River were evacuated Friday morning when a trail derailed, leaking oil into the river that feeds into Rock River.

The spill happened near the town of Doon in Lyon County. According to the Sioux City Journal:

Residents from several farms were evacuated early Friday morning after a train carrying oil derailed, spilling some of its contents into floodwaters of the Little Rock River 1.5 miles south of Doon.

A firefighter serving the Doon Volunteer Fire Department said he was paged at 5:46 a.m. and asked to respond to a BNSF derailment some 1.5 miles west of the intersection of 270th Street and Goldfinch Avenue. Fire fighters arrived at the scene and were greeted with a strong odor surrounding some 31 cars that had left the track in an area supposedly compromised as it was surrounded on both sides by floodwaters from the Little Rock River.

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