Tesla Semi crashes off-side I-80, battery fire, toxic fumes, 6+ hour closure section I-80.

[firsttruck]

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Toxic fumes from Tesla EV semi fire shut down I-80 in Sierra. Batteries smoldered for hours
By Daniel Hunt Updated
August 19, 2024 2:15 PM
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article291178340.html

.....
The crash occurred around 3:15 a.m. near Emigrant Gap where an electric vehicle traveling eastbound at the Laing Road offramp crashed onto the right shoulder and into trees, according to the California Highway Patrol’s incident log.

Officer Jason Lyman, a spokesman for the CHP’s Gold Run office, said that only one vehicle was involved and that the ** driver was not injured **.

.....
authorities had to create a half-mile buffer zone around the fire to keep “toxic” fumes from injuring bystanders and motorists. Firefighters from the Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit were battling the flames using masks and breathing apparatus.

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‘Toxic fumes’ spewing from burning Tesla Semi’s batteries on I-80.
A Tesla Semi was reportedly traveling on eastbound I-80 when it went off the interstate and crashed into a wooded area.
The crash was reported around 3:15 a.m. on August 19 near Emigrant Gap, east of Nyack, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Published: August 19, 2024
CDL-Life
By Ashley
https://cdllife.com/2024/toxic-fumes-spewing-from-burning-tesla-semis-batteries-on-i-80/

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Interstate 80 shut down in the Sierra after Tesla big rig crash, fire
A Tesla big rig fire has shut down part of Interstate 80 in both directions in Placer County. Here is our team coverage.
Aug 19, 2024
KCRA 3

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[Killlbox]

Lovely. We’re going to be hearing about this for months.

 

[Gaximus]

Lovely. We’re going to be hearing about this for months.

That’s because only Teslas can drive off the road and catch fire. All other ICE vehicles are immune to this. /s

 

[UberNoob]

RIP to the driver.

 

[firsttruck]

RIP to the driver.

Driver is OK. Driver not injured.

 

[pricedm]

Another data point for lower Tesla insurance Safety Score for driving after 11pm!

i80 closure map

 

[CyberGus]

For the record, all combustion fumes are "toxic". Of course, some are more toxic than others.

Thermal runaway on 1/2 of a MW is a hot mess!

 

[Deleted member 17810]

Another data point for lower Tesla insurance Safety Score for driving after 11pm!

i80 closure map

That's pretty intense considering we're at what like 14(?) hours after the crash.

 

[darkfyre]

Looks like it might be thermal runaway, but for some reason, I thought that was a bit more violent than what was pictured in the video. Obviously there is something wrong.

Opinion: Here's a couple of other 'hot takes' from me as someone who lives ~1hr from this situation.

Battery fires in rural areas are going to be very challenging to deal with since they can occur in places where there isn't ready access to water and can spread to vegetation or other combustable materials. This area of California is particularly prone to wildfires and is pretty well populated despite what you might believe.

It's factually correct to say that battery fires are far less frequent than ICE fires (in terms of chance of ignition). From what I have read, the risks/statistics are pretty well understood. The rub for me peresonally comes from the fact that battery fires are far more difficult to extinguish and require much more resources to do so (water/personel etc). This is a problem that is as yet, unsolved by a large number of emergency response agencies across the United States.

I don't really think it's fair to say, "this is a rare occurance so it shouldn't be a big deal". As a Tesla advocate, this doesn't really come across well to people who don't understand the brand and have general fear around EVs. I think news coverage is somewhat justified because this is a challenging unsolved problem that is one of the results of electrification. Obviously Tesla will probably investigate and maybe there will be some changes to future Semis. Who knows? Maybe there isn't anything else that could have been done in this situation. I do think the media will demonize Tesla for this one way or the other. But I don't think it's right to dismiss it just because it happens far less than an ICE fire.

 

[Hunky Dory]

I'm not going to guess whether the cause might be mechanical issues or driver error (I'm an old truck driver myself) but this may be a good example of where FSD supervised for big rigs could help in the future.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

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Toxic fumes from Tesla EV semi fire shut down I-80 in Sierra. Batteries smoldered for hours
By Daniel Hunt Updated
August 19, 2024 2:15 PM
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article291178340.html

.....
The crash occurred around 3:15 a.m. near Emigrant Gap where an electric vehicle traveling eastbound at the Laing Road offramp crashed onto the right shoulder and into trees, according to the California Highway Patrol’s incident log.

Officer Jason Lyman, a spokesman for the CHP’s Gold Run office, said that only one vehicle was involved and that the ** driver was not injured **.

.....
authorities had to create a half-mile buffer zone around the fire to keep “toxic” fumes from injuring bystanders and motorists. Firefighters from the Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit were battling the flames using masks and breathing apparatus.

------------------------------------

‘Toxic fumes’ spewing from burning Tesla Semi’s batteries on I-80.
A Tesla Semi was reportedly traveling on eastbound I-80 when it went off the interstate and crashed into a wooded area.
The crash was reported around 3:15 a.m. on August 19 near Emigrant Gap, east of Nyack, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Published: August 19, 2024
CDL-Life
By Ashley
https://cdllife.com/2024/toxic-fumes-spewing-from-burning-tesla-semis-batteries-on-i-80/

------------------------------------

Interstate 80 shut down in the Sierra after Tesla big rig crash, fire
A Tesla big rig fire has shut down part of Interstate 80 in both directions in Placer County. Here is our team coverage.
Aug 19, 2024
KCRA 3

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Too bad there is no FSD for the Tesla Semi. Would be very handy for sleepy drivers

 

[electric-mike]

Looks like it might be thermal runaway, but for some reason, I thought that was a bit more violent than what was pictured in the video. Obviously there is something wrong.

Opinion: Here's a couple of other 'hot takes' from me as someone who lives ~1hr from this situation.

Battery fires in rural areas are going to be very challenging to deal with since they can occur in places where there isn't ready access to water and can spread to vegetation or other combustable materials. This area of California is particularly prone to wildfires and is pretty well populated despite what you might believe.

It's factually correct to say that battery fires are far less frequent than ICE fires (in terms of chance of ignition). From what I have read, the risks/statistics are pretty well understood. The rub for me peresonally comes from the fact that battery fires are far more difficult to extinguish and require much more resources to do so (water/personel etc). This is a problem that is as yet, unsolved by a large number of emergency response agencies across the United States.

I don't really think it's fair to say, "this is a rare occurance so it shouldn't be a big deal". As a Tesla advocate, this doesn't really come across well to people who don't understand the brand and have general fear around EVs. I think news coverage is somewhat justified because this is a challenging unsolved problem that is one of the results of electrification. Obviously Tesla will probably investigate and maybe there will be some changes to future Semis. Who knows? Maybe there isn't anything else that could have been done in this situation. I do think the media will demonize Tesla for this one way or the other. But I don't think it's right to dismiss it just because it happens far less than an ICE fire.

Well said.

There is something so primal about fire that humans have a real irrational fear of it which causes Tesla fires (or EV fires) to gather much more attention than deserved.

It's like when a single plane crashes and air travel is affected worldwide.

Lithium battery fires are rare, but they burn hot for a long time.

I wonder how much time and effort has been spent examining how to best extinguish them scientifically. I can't help but wonder if many to fire departments are throwing water on them because that's how they've historically put out fires.

Dousing a pine house on fire with water is different than putting out a commercial grease/oil fire.

Would love to hear someone chime in on the best scientific way to extinguish a lithium battery fire.

 

[owl23]

Would love to hear someone chime in on the best scientific way to extinguish a lithium battery fire.

I don’t have a scientific background to comment on this, but I’ve seen the claim before that smothering these fires is far more effective than dousing them with water. Any truth to that?

Of course, finding something capable of smothering a semi fire and withstanding EV battery fire temps is no small task.

 

[DrPhyzx]

I don’t have a scientific background to comment on this, but I’ve seen the claim before that smothering these fires is far more effective than dousing them with water. Any truth to that?

Of course, finding something capable of smothering a semi fire and withstanding EV battery fire temps is no small task.

I don't believe that claim. A damaged battery doesn't need oxygen to generate enormous amounts of heat. It's not that the battery is fuel for the fire so much as the battery's stored energy is the heat source that is generating fire by burning everything in the vicinity (including itself). Anything you use to "smother" the fire needs to be able to tolerate thousands of degrees without dissociating into anything combustible which then becomes part of the fire. So, the goal is removing heat being released by the battery so it doesn't cause combustion, and nothing is more efficient at removing heat than vaporizing water: Water is an extraordinary substance in its specific heat properties. Add to that the high availability, low cost, and lack of toxicity, and nothing else comes close to water for fighting a battery fire.

 

[firsttruck]

I don’t have a scientific background to comment on this, but I’ve seen the claim before that smothering these fires is far more effective than dousing them with water. Any truth to that?

Of course, finding something capable of smothering a semi fire and withstanding EV battery fire temps is no small task.

Already exist.

It contains the fire. Does NOT put fire out but limits fire spread to other objects outside the vehicle.

But for a burning semi-tractor You're Gonna Need a REALLY BIGGER BOAT BLANKET

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Centro Zaragoza tests the Bridgehill Fire Blanket on an electric vehicle Centro Zaragoza, in cooperation with Bridgehill and the Fightfighters Department of Zaragoza, has tested the Bridgehill car fire blanket.
Feb 13, 2020
Centro Zaragoza - Instituto de investigación de vehículos ( Zaragoza, Spain )

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The Bridgehill EV Fire Blanket
• EV rated • No water runoff • Reusable for up to 30 times - cost efficient • Immediate stop of fire propagation • Immediate isolation of toxic gases and smoke • Drastically reducing carcinogen exposure, protecting your PPE from contamination and reducing cleaning costs
Apr 18, 2023
Bridgehill - We simply block fire

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Fire Blanket USA EV Fire Blanket Demonstration with Fire Chief of Training Joe Elam in Oklahoma.
Listen as Fire Chief of Training Joe Elam narrates and EV Fire Blanket training that was held by the OSU Fire Services and Training on August 25th, 2023. Chief Joe Elam narrates the entire training from start to finish, including the importance of centering the blanket, who needs the blanket, and why it is important to not just let an EV fire burn.
Aug 31, 2023
Fire Cloak USA

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Jaws (1975) - You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat Scene

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