A train moving highly volatile Bakken oil derailed Friday June 3 near Mosier, Oreg. in the Columbia River Gorge prompting emergency evacuations and road closures after the material caught fire.

Eleven cars out of the 96-car Union Pacific train derailed, some catching fire after releasing the crude on the railroad tracks running alongside Columbia River.

The train was heading for Tacoma, Wash. from Eastpoint, Idaho. Cars were carrying Bakken oil, which is more flammable material with a lower flashpoint than other crude .

The incident has spurred outcry from environmentalists and politicians across the country, calling for more stringent regulation and even the ban of crude being transported near sensitive areas like rivers and communities.

36th District Washington Senator Reuven Carlyle issued a statement shortly after the accident. He drew attention to a local derailment from July of 2014 when a 102-car train pulling 100 cars carrying crude oil derailed in Interbay. No crude spilled. Carlyle called the recent derailment a “wake up call.’

"Just two years following the wake up call derailment under the Magnolia Bridge in Seattle--among the most dense neighborhoods in our state--we see massive flames on the edge of the mighty Columbia while responders prepare for oil to spill into the water,” said Sen. Carlyle

Sen. Carlyle also pressed for immediate denial of transportation permits for all proposed oil-by-rail facilities in Washington, including facilities in Vancouver, Hoquiam and Anacortes.

“Dozens of federal laws with elegant sounding environmental names seem toothless at the very moment we need to more effectively protect the public against unrestricted oil by rail traffic. It is time for action and resolve as a state in the midst of federal impotence.”

Sen. Carlyle went on to call for the existing oil-by-rail industry to maintain insurance policies proportionate to the risk of the loads they carry.

New York State’s comptroller urged federal authorities to do the same thing back in April. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli cited rules from the U.S. Transportation Department stating that some oil shippers and rail companies do not carry insurance that cover a serious accident or spill involving tankers carrying crude oil or other hazardous materials, despite recent tightening of safety inspection and equipment enhancement.

The cars in the Interbay derailment were the newer enhanced type.

Despite more regulation the department predicts more accidents in the future.

“The federal government should issue a well crafted moratorium on the movements of all oil trains until they can be operated in a reasonably safe manner. We can act responsibly and immediately if we simply open our eyes to the grip of the status quo.”

In a letter to the U.S. Transportation Department and the Federal Railroad Administration, DiNapoli wrote, “The department has estimated there may be 10 oil train accidents of ‘higher consequence’ within the next 20 years at costs exceeding $1.15 billion in each case and possibly more than $5.75 billion in a single incident.”

These high costs and accidents are something Carlyle hopes to prevent from happening in Washington.

“We as seven million people in our pristine state are not helpless to act against a faceless Washington, D.C. bureaucracy. We can love trains and the role they play in our economy and be fiercely committed to environmental public safety. It's a false choice to pretend we must choose one over the other."