Fire and rescue crews at an explosive tunnel collision outside Green River, Wyoming, could not enter the tunnel as of 3 p.m. Friday, hours after the initial crash, because the fire inside was too intense to approach, the local sheriff’s office reports.
Crews entered both ends as much as they could, but the combination of vehicle obstructions, raging fire, explosions, and falling concrete kept them from going in farther and ultimately led them to evacuate, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office added in a later statement.
Multiple vehicles crashed in the westbound lane of the Green River Tunnel on interstate 80 late Friday morning, leading to at least two fatalities outside the tunnel.
Full fatality counts and other details from inside the tunnel weren’t known as of Friday afternoon.
It appears a tractor trailer loaded with transformers was involved in the tunnel crash, and the transformers were exploding throughout the midday hours, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jason Mower told Cowboy State Daily.
As of 3 p.m., the explosions had stalled for about 15 minutes, he said, but an intense, “raging” fire barred anyone from approaching the tunnel’s interior.
The tunnel’s structural integrity is also threatened, Mower added.
“We are containing the scene now because there’s nothing else we can do, given the conditions inside the tunnel,” said Mower. “Both the nature of the fire and now the structural integrity inside the tunnel itself.”
At least seven people have been taken to get medical care or got out of the tunnel themselves during the earlier stages, he noted.
The escapees have been accounted for and treated as needed, said Mower.
He said Wyoming Department of Transportation personnel boarded Gov. Mark Gordon’s plane and were “wheels up” toward the scene as of about 2 p.m.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Wyoming Highway Patrol, WYDOT and the sheriff’s office all will be investigating the incident, Mower said.
“Basically, we treat it as a giant crime scene,” he added.
Escape
To escape the fire, motorists had to run out of the tunnel for safety.
One woman, Zae Smith from Haughton, Louisiana, posted video of her harrowing escape on Cowboy State Daily’s Facebook page.
“I can’t afford to lose you,” Smith says to someone as they run toward the opening of the tunnel. “Our trailer is on fire.”
The shaky video shows other motorists in the smoke, some with luggage, all running toward the light.
“Accident,” she said breathlessly. “Truck 88.”
“Truck 88,” a male voice repeats.
‘Huge Explosions’
David Brewer and his daughter Alyssa, both of Kemmerer, were on their way to Rock Springs for an OBGYN appointment when the crash happened.
David told Cowboy State Daily were about 200 yards from the tunnel when traffic stopped, and he started hearing multiple explosions while black smoke poured out of the tunnel.
“We heard and felt the huge explosions,” Brewer said. “They went on for 30-45 minutes.”
“They had EMTs and sheriffs running in with hospital bags because they couldn’t get the ambulance through,” Alyssa said. “It was very, very scary.”
Brewer said they were stuck in traffic for about 90 minutes.
“We don’t have an OBGYN in our area anymore, so we have to come here,” she said. “We were only 200 yards from the tunnel when it happened.”
Green River resident Jennifer Lynn Carr was going to pick up her daughter, who was out shoveling snow for her neighbors, when she heard an enormous boom from the Green River Tunnel.
“It happened around noon or so,” Carr told Cowboy State Daily. “I walked outside and heard a boom, looked up, and saw a plume of smoke coming out of the tunnel.”
Within half an hour, smoke was billowing out of both ends of the tunnel.
Carr, who lives roughly a mile from I-80, has an unobstructed view of the outside of the tunnel.
“My daughter and I heard multiple booms that sounded like cars running into each other,” she said. “She was terrified and panicked, and I told her it would be OK. But it was pretty scary.”
Former Sweetwater County legislator Stan Blake was out shoveling the snow on his sidewalk when he saw the smoke coming out from the tunnels.
The longtime Rock Springs resident said he’s never seen anything like it before.
“Sure, there have been crashes in the tunnels before, but not like this,” he said. “I’ve never seen black smoke billowing out of both ends of the tunnel. This is really, really bad. It’s ugly.”
Prayers At The Capitol
State Sen. John Kolb, R-Rock Springs, told the Wyoming Senate on Friday about the crash and that it’s causing the tunnel to collapse.
“It’s going to be pretty devastating for the area, most importantly for those folks that lost their lives,” he said.
The Senate offered a prayer and moment of silence for the victims of the tunnel accident after Kolb delivered this news.
Heavy, black smoke pours from the Green River Tunnel along Interstate 80 after a Friday crash inside the tunnel. (Wyoming Highway Patrol) 
Smoke pouring out of tunnels near Green River, Wyoming, on Friday, February 14, 2025 (David Brewer) 
Smoke pouring out of Green River tunnels on I-80 on Friday, February 14, 2025 (Photo: David Brewer) 
Heavy, black smoke continues to billow out of both ends of the Green River tunnels along Interstate 80 after a fatal multivehicle pileup and fire inside Friday afternoon. People in traffic report “huge explosions.” 
Heavy, black smoke continues to billow out of both ends of the Green River tunnels along Interstate 80 after a fatal multivehicle pileup and fire inside Friday afternoon. People in traffic report “huge explosions.” (Wyoming Department of Transportation via Webcam) 
Heavy, black smoke continues to billow out of both ends of the Green River tunnels along Interstate 80 after a fatal multivehicle pileup and fire inside Friday afternoon. People in traffic report “huge explosions.” (Wyoming Department of Transportation via Webcam)
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com, Jimmy Orr can be reached at jimmy@cowboystatedaily.com and Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
