Clark Fork River Oil Spill: This is apparently how the Northwest does man-made disasters

Well not quite a disaster per say, more like a PR bloody nose for Avista. The Spokesman Review has the story on a transformer oil spill from a dam on the Clark Fork River.

Oil sheens were visible on parts of the Clark Fork River Friday afternoon – a day after a pipe broke at the Noxon Rapids Dam, spilling about 1,250 gallons of transformer oil.

Emergency response officials were working with the dam’s operator, Avista Corp., to evaluate the situation and craft a clean-up plan. A helicopter flew over a 20-mile stretch of the lower Clark Fork River. Pockets of oil were spotted from the air, but no dead fish turned up.

Apparently, a chunk of ice was to blame for the broken for the spill. Which isn't expected to have any long term environmental effects. Check out this wonderfully technical explanation:

The oil is “not the goopy, heavy stuff,” said Bruce Howard, Avista’s director of environmental affairs, but rather a highly-refined mineral oil used to cool electrical transformers.

The oil tends to float on top of the water, according to Howard. He said the spill shouldn’t put the river’s fish population or other wildlife at risk.

That's until we start seeing fish with three eyes and the jumping ability of Lebron James. Did anyone patch up the pipe yet? Just wondering.