XPost: ca.driving, talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.republicans
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/27/us/battery-fire-traffic-nevada- california.html
Drivers were stuck in traffic in 109-degree heat on a California highway
on Saturday for hours as the authorities struggled to extinguish a fire involving a truck carrying lithium ion batteries that had overturned on
Friday.
Emergency services received calls around 6:30 a.m. local time about a
truck that had crashed near Baker, Calif., in the northbound lanes of I-
15, a major highway that leads travelers to Las Vegas.
The northbound lanes were closed beginning at 8:30 a.m., and the
southbound lanes at 9 a.m. The southbound lanes reopened shortly after
2:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The northbound lanes remained closed as of 5 p.m. on Saturday, according
to the California Department of Transportation.
The California Highway Patrol said it had cleared the backlog of stuck
vehicles on the closed highway by rerouting them to I-40. But that, in
turn, had caused “extremely heavy” traffic on that highway, which the
agency described as “the only alternative” because of the location of the closure on I-15.
“Multiple attempts were made to move the container from the freeway
shoulder to open land using heavy equipment,” the San Bernardino County
Fire Protection District said on social media on Saturday. “However, the container’s weight, exceeding 75,000 pounds, has made these efforts unsuccessful so far.”
The fire district said it was monitoring the air quality “due to the
hazardous materials and chemicals involved.”
Emergency responders were checking for hydrogen cyanide, chlorine and
sulfur dioxide, the district said, adding, “These chemicals pose
significant health risks at elevated levels, with hydrogen cyanide and
chlorine being particularly dangerous even at low concentrations.”
Lithium ion batteries, which are used in many electronic devices,
including e-bikes and electric cars, contain highly flammable materials.
If ignited, the batteries burn hot and are very difficult to put out.
The fire district noted on social media that lithium ion battery fires
“can escalate to thermal runaway, needing massive amounts of water to extinguish.”
Videos posted on social media from drivers on the highway traveling in the opposite direction showed long lines of vehicles at a complete stop.
The California Highway Patrol did not provide an estimate of how long
drivers had been stuck on I-15, noting that travel patterns vary, nor was
it clear how many drivers had been stranded.
But some on social media said they had been stopped in traffic for six
hours and expressed concern about running out of gas or electric cars
running out of charge.
“The closure of the northbound side was moved further south,” the
California Highway Patrol said in an email, adding that this move “allowed motorists to utilize alternate routes.”
Saturday was an exceptionally hot day in Baker, with temperatures reaching
the triple digits.
The fire district, which could not be immediately reached for comment,
advised people to travel with plenty of water and to “ensure you have
enough supplies, fuel and charge in your vehicle.”
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
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