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Tesla semi-trailer fire paralyzes California highway near Lake Tahoe

Westbound Interstate 80 will reopen more than 13 hours after a Tesla semi-truck caught fire east of Nyack early Monday morning, Cal Fire said. Eastbound I-80 remains closed. Motorists were kept off the interstate for at least a half-mile in both directions because the Tesla electric vehicle's battery was burning, said Jason Lyman, a California Highway Patrol spokesman. The toxic fumes are an inhalation hazard, he said. Cal Fire crews and a hazardous materials team contracted by Tesla are on the scene. They must wait for the lithium-ion batteries to run out of charge, burn out and cool to a temperature of 100 degrees. “When they break, they start fueling each other and catch fire,” said Ryan Woessner, Cal Fire's division chief. “They burn out and use the battery itself as fuel.” Fire crews were first dispatched to the crash scene near the Emigrant Gap area in Placer County at about 3:16 a.m. The semi-truck veered off eastbound I-80 near the Laing Road exit and struck trees, CHP logs show. Cal Fire said around 4 p.m. that crews were able to significantly reduce the temperature of the battery and were working on a plan to recover the semi-truck's cab and transport it to Tesla's Nevada plant. Officials closed the road as the fire spread to nearby brush. Westbound traffic was stopped at Highway 20 and eastbound traffic was diverted at Colfax. LiveCopter 3 showed crews dousing the truck, which was not towing a trailer, with water. Lyman said emergency crews dumped “thousands and thousands” of gallons of water on the wreckage, which was still about 1,000 degrees, according to the CHP's temperature guns. Later in the day, Cal Fire sprinkled fire retardant around the semi to contain it and prevent flames from spreading to nearby woods. The CHP said the driver of the truck got away from the scene and was taken to a hospital. The truck was driven by Tesla and the cause of the crash is under investigation, CHP said. CHP said they are investigating whether the driver fell asleep. The road was originally scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m., but Lyman said CHP would reassess conditions at that time. Because of the toxic fumes, there is currently no estimated opening time. Lyman said dealing with an electric semi fire is a “newer thing” and crews are still learning how to handle it. Woessner said they do not have a standard manual for dealing with a semi battery fire. He said crews have been training with Tesla when there have been truck breakdowns but no fires. “This is new technology for us and we're learning with the engineers as we go through this process and for us right now it's a wait and see,” he said. That's what drivers are doing, like Angel Contreras. Ironically, the Modesto truck driver is transporting parts for electric batteries, 20,000 kilograms of coils, to Tesla's factory in Nevada. “Those coils are for making these types of batteries that are burning there,” he said. The Tesla Semi was first launched in 2022. KCRA 3 has reached out to Tesla and CEO Elon Musk for comment. Check our live traffic map for updates. This story was curated by Hearst's KCRA Alert Desk. If this story happened near you or near someone you know, share this article with friends nearby using the KCRA mobile app so they know what's happening near them. The KCRA app is available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play. For more coverage of California's top news, click here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

EMIGRANT GAP, California —

Westbound Interstate 80 will reopen more than 13 hours after a Tesla semi-trailer caught fire east of Nyack, Cal Fire said. Eastbound I-80 remains closed.

Motorists were kept off the highway for at least half a mile in both directions because the Tesla electric car's battery was on fire, said Jason Lyman, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. The toxic fumes posed an inhalation hazard, he said.

Cal Fire crews and a hazardous materials team contracted by Tesla are on site.

You have to wait until the lithium-ion batteries are depleted, burn out and cool down to a temperature of 100 degrees.

“When they break, they feed on each other and catch fire,” said Ryan Woessner, chief of the Cal Fire Division. “They burn out, using the battery itself as fuel.”

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene of the crash near the Emigrant Gap area in Placer County at about 3:16 a.m. The tractor-trailer went off eastbound I-80 near the Laing Road exit and struck trees, according to CHP logs.

Cal Fire said around 4 p.m. that crews had achieved a significant reduction in battery temperature and were working on a plan to recover the semi-trailer and transport it to Tesla's Nevada plant.

Authorities closed the road as the fire spread into nearby brush land. Westbound traffic was stopped on Highway 20 and eastbound traffic was detoured at Colfax.

LiveCopter 3 showed emergency crews dousing the truck, which was not towing a trailer, with water. Lyman said emergency crews sprayed “thousands and thousands” of gallons of water on the wreckage, which was still about 1,000 degrees, according to CHP's temperature cannons.

Later in the day, Cal Fire spread fire retardant around the tractor-trailer to contain it and prevent the flames from spreading to the nearby forest.

According to the CHP, the driver of the truck survived the scene of the accident and was taken to a hospital.

The truck was driven by Tesla and the cause of the accident is currently under investigation, CHP said. CHP said they are investigating whether the driver fell asleep.

The road was originally scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m., but Lyman said CHP would reassess conditions at that time. Due to the toxic fumes, there is currently no estimated reopening time.

Lyman said fighting fires in electric trucks is a “new thing” and crews are still learning how to deal with it.

Woessner said they don't have a standard manual for dealing with a battery fire in a semi-truck. He said crews have trained with Tesla when equipment breakdowns have occurred, but not fires.

“This is a new technology for us and we are learning along with the engineers as we go through this process. For us, it's a wait-and-see situation at the moment,” he said.

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That's what riders like Angel Contreras do.

Ironically, the truck driver from Modesto is transporting electric battery parts and 20,000 kilograms of coils to the Tesla factory in Nevada.

“These coils are used to make the batteries that burn there,” he said.

The Tesla Semi was first released in 2022.

KCRA 3 has reached out to Tesla and CEO Elon Musk for comment.

Check out our live traffic map for updates.

This story was curated by Hearst's KCRA Alert Desk.

If this story happened near you or someone you know, please share this article with friends in your area using the KCRA mobile app so they know what's happening near them. The KCRA app is available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

You can find more reports on the most important topics from California here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

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