EV "big rig" truck was water bombed from the air while burning on the highway
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A Tesla truck tractor that caught fire on Monday led to the closure of both directions of California's Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada for more than half a day. First responders reported that the electric big rig’s batteries continued to burn for several hours afterward.
Cal Fire crews were dispatched around 3 a.m. to an electric semi-truck fire near Emigrant Gap. The California Highway Patrol later confirmed a hazardous materials situation due to the potentially toxic fumes released by the rig's batteries.
Toxic fumes billowed from the Tesla commercial semi truck that caught fire on Interstate 80 near Colfax on Monday afternoon, SFGate.com reports.
The fire spread to nearby vegetation, prompting officials to completely shut down the highway for several hours.
Mary Eldridge, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said the fire was started by hazardous materials within the vehicle’s lithium ion batteries and fumes from the chemicals would be dangerous to anyone within a distance of a third of a mile (500 meter) from the fire.
“As long as the vehicle has vapour coming off it, that is extremely toxic,” Eldridge said over the phone. “We don’t want anyone driving by with open windows. We don’t want any of that getting into vehicles, so this fire has to be done before the road can reopen.”
Due to concerns about the batteries, people were kept at least half a mile (800 meters) away from the scene, CBS News reports.
"The battery itself, you can't just spray water on it to put it out. It takes either some sort of dry chemical or very huge amount of water, I've heard as much as 40,000 gallons," said Ofc. Jason Lyman with CHP Gold Run.
Cal Fire aircraft deployed fire retardant on the semi, similar to tactics used in wildfire battles, to help contain the fire.
LiveCopter 3 captured footage of crews dousing the truck, which was not hauling a trailer, with water. Officer Lyman mentioned that crews were using "thousands and thousands" of gallons of water on the wreckage, which still registered around 1,000 degrees on CHP's temperature guns, KCRA.com reports.
Later in the day, Cal Fire dropped fire retardant around the semi to contain it and prevent the flames from spreading to the surrounding forest.
The incident began when the big rig veered off the roadway and crashed into the trees. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, according to the CHP.
Photo Credit: (Cover photo above) The view of the crashed electric Tesla rig as first responders first arrived on the scene. Photo by Cal Fire