Massive fire in Ontario still under investigation as victim remains hospitalized
By Joe Hathaway on Monday, November 13th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ONTARIO — Ontario officials say the cause of a fire which sparked at a liquefied natural gas mobile station is still under investigation.
Ontario Fire Chief Clint Benson says all equipment involved in last week’s LNG tank fire has been removed from the incident site. An environmental assessment has been completed and indicates that the site is environmentally safe. At this time, liquid natural gas transfer operations have been suspended at the site.
The fire started around 4:25pm on November 2 at the LNG station near the Love’s Travel Center, when a truck carrying LNG burst into flames.
The driver of the truck, 61-year-old Joseph Pesola, of Meridian, was severely burned.
According to his family, he suffered third degree burns on nearly 70% of his body. They say he is at an intensive burn unit in Salt Lake City and is expected to remain there for months.
Ontario Fire and Rescue says they would like to thank the community for being patient throughout this process. Additionally, they would like to thank the employees of Love’s who helped Mr. Pesola during the incident.
