All lanes of I-15 opened following dayslong closure that left drivers stranded between L.A. and Las Vegas
All lanes of Interstate 15 that were closed due to an overturned big rig and resulting hazmat situation have been reopened, ending a nearly 48-hour standstill in the middle of the desert.
According to CHP, the crash occurred around 5:57 a.m. Friday morning when a semi carrying lithium batteries overturned and caught fire near the Afton Road exit on the northbound span of the 15 Freeway between Barstow and Baker.
“The collision occurred when the driver of a 2020 Freightliner, trailering a flatbed trailer loaded with a sealed container of six industrial grade lithium-ion batteries, lost control and overturned onto the right shoulder of northbound I-15,” CHP stated in a release issued Saturday night. “Subsequently, the battery container became detached from the flatbed trailer and also rolled onto the right shoulder.”
Emergency personnel, firefighters and hazardous materials specialists respond to the scene of an overturned big rig carrying lithium batteries that caught fire, causing a massive traffic backup on the I-15 Freeway on July 27, 2024. (California Highway Patrol Barstow) Photo of the big rig carrying lithium batteries that overturned and caught fire, causing a massive traffic backup on the I-15 Freeway on July 27, 2024. (SB County Fire) A traffic jam on I-15 after a big rig caught fire has caused motorists to be stranded overnight in the desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (IG/ Katryn Santore)
Traffic on major roadway connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas was already completely stopped by the time the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District announced a hard closure on the northbound lanes due to the lithium-ion fire, which can be particularly hazardous due to the chemicals released during off-gassing and the potential for thermal runaway, fire officials said.
Hazmat teams and fire crews were hampered by the traffic as well as the fire’s location, authorities added, making the traffic jam last even longer.
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“One of the significant challenges in this remote area is the logistics of transporting equipment, personnel and water to the scene,” San Bernardino County Fire officials said in an update issued Friday night. “This area of the county is very distant from many of our stations, and the required equipment and personnel [had] extended ETAs.”
Photos shared by CHP’s Barstow station show the truck burning and crews working to clean up the mess; they were able to open the southbound lanes of I-15 by 4 p.m. Saturday, but not after some motorists had been in park for hours.
To top it all off, additional large backups were reported on Interstate 40 as drivers were being routed away from the 15.
“I’ve been on the road since [Friday] when I left Los Angeles around 11 a.m.,” KTLA viewer Katryn Santore said over the phone during the 8 a.m. Saturday morning newscast as she was stuck on the 40 Freeway. “I was stuck on the 15 from about 2:30 to 9:30 p.m.”
CHP eventually announced that all lanes of the 15 Freeway, northbound and southbound, had been reopened shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday – about two days after the initial crash.
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