Northwest Iowa Derailment Forces Evacuations of 12 Homes

A dozen northwest Iowa families are waiting for BNSF Railway crews to finish cleaning up a weekend derailment before they can return to their homes.

The families were evacuated after 22 cars left the tracks around 4:15 a.m. Sunday, but no injuries were reported. BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said Monday that 12 homes were evacuated as a precaution because a car carrying liquefied petroleum gas was damaged.

McBeth says crews have been working overnight to clear all the other cars from the derailment site about two miles south of Lester, Iowa. Once the other cars are removed, crews will burn off the remaining fuel in the damaged car.

McBeth says the evacuated families should be able to return to their homes sometime Monday afternoon after the burn is completed.