PHOTO: Highway 87 was closed on the north end of town for 11 hours Friday after a propane tanker truck rolled in the Tyler Parkway roundabout.
It was a tense few hours as crews worked to evacuate the area given concerns the truck could explode.
Luckily, the truck, carrying 9,000 gallons of liquid propane, was not leaking, said Payson Fire Chief David Staub.
With the nearby churches and businesses evacuated, including Home Depot, all crews could do was wait for equipment to arrive to remove the truck. Staub said if the accident had happened in the Valley they likely could have had it removed in two hours; however, they don’t have the same equipment in Rim Country.
A crane was called from the Valley and an empty tanker from Prescott.
The fuel had to be transferred to the other tanker before it could be righted, Staub said.
It was then removed from the scene around 11 p.m.