Fritz Hill is philosophical about the nearly 5,000 gallons of diesel that spilled on the ranch he owns with his son Jason Hill.

A truck driver lost control of his rig shortly after midnight on March 1 as he traveled near a farmhouse occupied by a Hill Ranches employee. When the driver, Marty Ray Blancett, reportedly swerved his Peterbilt truck to avoid a deer, the pup trailer carrying fuel broke loose and tumbled down an embankment where it settled into a ditch bottom. Diesel drained from the tank and disappeared into the soil.

“The good news is nobody was hurt,” Hill said.

The bad news is that the contaminated soil must be removed and the excavation pit is edging closer to buildings on the property. An old shed came down today. The house could possibly be next.

Hill doesn’t blame anyone. The diesel went where it went – and the extent of that remains to be seen.

“They are trying to corral the spill,” Hill said. “As far as the home goes, that coin is still up in the air.”

Mike Renz, of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, works out of a DEQ trailer parked at the site. He says the operation will likely last another week.

As he talked, an excavator dipped its claw into the soil and deposited another load into a rock truck that dumped the load into a stockpile a short ways away.

“The soil goes to a solid waste landfill — in this case, the Finley Buttes Landfill near Boardman,” Renz said.

Renz said 33 people (including heavy equipment operators, environment workers, geologists and others) were on-site Wednesday with a fleet of excavators, rock trucks, dump trucks and trailers.

Three environmental recovery companies are working together to clean up the mess. Eastern Oregon Environmental Recovery is taking the lead, aided by SMAF Environmental of Prineville and Steve Ritch Environmental of Baker City.

Dave Ammons, co-owner of Eastern Oregon Environmental Recovery, said workers pumped 400 or 500 gallons of the fuel from the tank before it drained into the soil.

“From 4,500 to 4,600 gallons went into the ground,” he said.

The gaping pit now measures about 30 feet deep by 50 feet wide, Ammons said. He said fuel tends to sink straight down and then feather out sideways. They are looking for the edges.

“It’s a delicate process,” Ammons said.

They navigate by sense of smell. Diesel has a distinct odor. When there is doubt, they use a gadget called a photo ionization detector — kind of an electronic nose — to help them out.

“When the fuel is completely removed, we’ll grid off the pit and take soil samples,” Renz said.

Maverik, the company that owns the truck, had a couple people on-site this week. The company owns about 260 convenience/gas stores with an adventure sport motif.

Nancy Couch, Maverik’s loss prevention/safety director and a 27-year employee, said the driver was traveling from Pasco to Boise. The company has outlets in 10 states.

“It was an unfortunate accident that happened,” Couch said. “We’re so glad nobody got hurt.”

Renz said the company is doing what it needs to do.

“Maverik has been cooperative,” he said. “They’re taking care of their spill.”

Renz said the property owners typically get everything replaced as good, or better, than before in these situations. New soil is brought in. Buildings are replaced.

“Everything that’s broken gets fixed,” he said.

That’s good news for Fritz Hill.

“The result was unfortunate,” Hill said. “But all things considered, it’s just inconvenient.”

Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.

This story originally appeared in East Oregonian.