A train towing a highly volatile type of oil derailed Friday in the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, Ore., igniting a fire that sent a plume of black smoke high into the sky and spurring evacuations and road closures.

Eleven cars derailed in the 96-car Union Pacific train and several ignited, releasing oil alongside tracks that parallel the Columbia River, said Aaron Hunt, a spokesman for the railroad. All the cars were carrying Bakken oil, a type of oil that is more flammable because it has a higher gas content and vapor pressure, and lower flashpoint, than other varieties.

Authorities said Friday evening they were moving into what they described as a cooling operation at the blaze and said they’d work into the night on suppressing the fire. Union Pacific said it was en route to Tacoma, meaning the train would have traveled through Portland and Vancouver.

The derailment was quick to stir those opposed to the proposed Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. oil-by-rail terminal at the Port of Vancouver.

“What’s going on today is exactly the reason people are trying to stop the Tesoro project from going forward. This is exactly what we feared,” said Dan Serres, conservation director for Columbia Riverkeeper. “This absolutely reinforces the concerns people have and why oil-by-rail is wrong for the Northwest.”