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The devastation left by a Feb. 16 oil train accident in West Virginia, one of four such derailments in the last three weeks.

(U.S. EPA)

The accidents came in rapid succession.

In July 2013, an oil train crashed in Quebec, killing 47 people. That November, another one exploded in Alabama. The next month, an oil train sparked a massive fireball in North Dakota. January: New Brunswick, Canada. In May: Lynchburg, Va.

And then, nothing. For nine months, oil trains stopped exploding.

Was the problem fixed? Hardly. Four oil trains have derailed and caught fire in just the last three weeks in Illinois, West Virginia and Ontario (twice), spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil.

Feb. 14: A Canadian National train carrying tar sands oil from Alberta explodes in Ontario.

Feb. 16: A CSX train derails in West Virginia:

March 5: A BNSF train derails and blows up in Galena, Illinois:

Picture from @scandbq of most recent explosion from the @BNSFRailway derailment fire south of Galena pic.twitter.com/KJWoPb2jow — KCRG (@KCRG) March 5, 2015

March 7 - Saturday: A Canadian National train derails and catches fire in Ontario, just 22 miles away from the Feb. 14 accident site.

CLOSURE #Hwy144 & #Hwy101 #Gogama CN train derailment a carrying crude oil causing a large. Unknown length of closure http://t.co/dRDxt6oI9t — OPP North East (@OPP_NER) March 7, 2015

Getting closer and closer to the derailed wagons, I feel scared and sick. #ondp #onpoli #Gogama with Claude Gravelle pic.twitter.com/uTKdsFoyxr — France Gélinas (@NickelBelt) March 7, 2015

The latest accidents underscore the risks continuing to face Oregon, where state officials have moved slowly to address oil train safety gaps since the trains started rolling in late 2012.

Trains haul crude oil throughout Oregon, along some of its most iconic and scenic locations, passing Multnomah Falls, through the Columbia River Gorge and along the Deschutes River. They move through Portland south along Interstate 5, crossing the Willamette River.

Yet, planning and readiness in Oregon have lagged despite the dangers. Though there have been no major accidents in the state, oil trains have introduced catastrophic spill risks in areas where they did not exist before.

Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, a Portland Democrat, has introduced legislation to boost readiness. She said the latest string of accidents underscores the need for her bill, HB 3225.

"They're a reminder that this is a problem that continues to exist," Smith Warner said. "The nine-month period of quiet was a fluke. This issue is not going away as long as we continue to produce and ship oil out of parts of the country that were never set up for it."

The bill would levy a one-time, $3.75 million assessment split among railroads moving oil through Oregon to pay for spill readiness as well as the supplies first responders need to address oil train accidents.

A recurring $375,000 annual fee also would be split among those railroad companies to pay to continue oil spill planning along rail routes.

Smith Warner said the bill is modeled on similar legislation passed in Minnesota, which railroads there did not challenge in courts. She said she didn't know whether rail companies would support the bill.

-- Rob Davis

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