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This is a story that actually took place nearly a month ago, but a detailed investigation by the NTSB has brought fresh attention to it. In the early morning hours of August 19th, an unnamed, long-haul big rig driver was traveling along I-80 northeast of San Franciso. Much of the state was already going up in flames because of the summer wildfires, but the region near Emigrant Gap was still relatively untouched. Shortly after three in the morning, the driver failed to navigate a curve in the highway and went off the road, crashing into some trees down a short slope. Thankfully, the driver escaped with only minor injuries.
The crash was only the beginning of the driver’s problems, however. He wasn’t driving a standard big rig. He was at the wheel of a new Tesla Semi, an electric vehicle with one of the largest EV batteries on the market. Shortly after striking the tree, the truck’s battery basically exploded, starting a fire that would consume everything around. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene to battle the blaze including a helicopter and a couple of firetrucks. The fire raged for 15 hours reaching temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The helicopter was forced to drop flame-retardant foam on it, finally extinguishing the flames well into the next evening. The NTSB estimates that firefighters dumped in excess of 50,000 gallons of water on the truck’s battery. (KRQE)
California firefighters had to douse a flaming battery in a Tesla Semi with about 50,000 gallons (190,000 liters) of water to extinguish flames after a crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
