Interstate 70 was closed into the early morning hours of Jan. 25 after a semi's tanker came free and rolled near Georgetown Hill, spilling ethanol. No one was hurt.

The accident occurred late in the afternoon on Jan. 24.

"The truck was carrying a tanker, and he was loaded with ethanol, wood alcohol, and apparently the kingpin on the trailer sheared off," said Clear Creek Sheriff Don Krueger. "So the trailer started rolling backward down the hill and finally flipped."

Krueger said about 150 gallons of ethanol spilled. Both east- and westbound lanes were closed. The eastbound lanes opened about 8:30 p.m., but westbound lanes didn't reopen until 4:30 a.m. the next day.

Krueger said a hazardous-materials team from the State Patrol did the initial work on the spill.

Cpl. Eric Wynn of the Colorado State Patrol said that during a spill, the patrol will generally send a team to stop the damage and stem the cause while waiting for a cleanup crew contracted by the trucking company.

"What will happen is our haz-mat teams respond. … They'll identify what it is that is leaking out of the cargo that's a safety concern, so the community is not affected in any way," Wynn said.

Wynn added that the teams work to protect waterways and contain the spill.