The highway between Barstow and Baker, California, was shut down solid between Friday morning and Sunday morning when a truck carrying electric vehicle batteries caught fire.
The crash occurred at about 8 a.m. on Friday, July 26 shutting the highway down until Sunday morning, according to CBS News.
The resulting EV battery fire shut down both sides of the highway for about 44 hours.
“Due to the lithium-ion, water cannot be added to the fire, the batteries must burn out on their own,” the San Bernardino County Fire Department said. “Lithium-ion fires are particularly hazardous due to the chemicals released during off-gassing and the potential for thermal runaway,” the department later said. “Thermal runaway can cause the fire to spread rapidly and emit toxic gases, making it essential to handle the situation with extreme caution.”
Traffic started to build up for miles as authorities worked to get the 75,000-pound container moved off the highway. Triple-digit temperatures in the desert area also led to 911 calls from drivers experiencing heat-related emergencies while stuck in traffic on the freeway.
The shut down was more than a mere inconvenience.
With Summer temperatures on the blacktop soaring past 100 degrees hundreds of stranded motorists were succumbing to the heat.
The conditions spurred first responders to send out ambulance crews to make sure people made ill by the heat were taken care of as they waiting in their cars.
It’s all just another reason why electric battery power is absolutely not a panacea for energy use.
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