A Tesla electric semi truck crashed in Northern California, causing its battery to catch fire. Although electric vehicles are meant to be better for the environment, that is not always the case and an example is this Tesla all-electric semi truck that caught fire. When the battery caught fire, it released harmful fumes into the air.
The fire was so dangerous that firefighters had to wait for it to cool down before they could do anything. People are now questioning how the crash happened.
The Interstate 80 Tesla Electric Semi Truck Crash
Due to the crash and the fire, the highway where it occurred had to be closed. Interstate 80 had to be shut down in both directions.
The crash occurred at 3:15 a.m. on Monday when the Tesla electric semi truck swerved off the road and crashed into the trees by the roadside. The good news is that the driver of the vehicle walked away from the crash. However, they still had to go to the hospital to get checked for injuries.
ALSO READ: The New Tesla Truck Stands Alone in Its Category, for Better or Worse
The Intense Heat of Electric Vehicle Fire
When the battery was burning, its temperature was extremely hot. It reached temperatures of over 1000°F. Firefighters had to use thousands of gallons of water to try to cool the battery.
At the end of the day, they had to wait for the electric semi truck’s lithium-ion batteries to burn out and cool down to at least 100° before they could safely take charge of the situation. The firefighters were also worried that the fumes from the fire would be too dangerous to breathe in if they intervened when the fire was still too hot.
When a gas-powered vehicle catches fire, firefighters would need only about 700 gallons of water to put it out. However, because this Tesla’s electric truck needed thousands of gallons of water for its fire to be put out, it raised concerns. People are wondering why fires caused by electric cars need so much water to be put out.
Environmental Concerns With Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
While electric cars are supposed to be better for the environment than gas-powered cars, the toxic fumes and fires from burning electric cars show that they might not be as environmentally friendly as we thought.
The smoke from the fire was not the only environmentally harmful thing the firefighters were thinking of. If they had used water to try to control the fire when the temperature was still high, it would release toxic chemicals.
These poisonous chemicals in the fire would have mixed with the water, creating dangerous chemicals like sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. If these dangerous chemicals in the water had flowed off the highway and into the areas where plants, animals, and other living organisms are, it could have harmed them.
ALSO READ: Tesla Cybertruck Owners Claim Their $100K EVs Are Being Delivered Dirty and Full of Trash
Electric Vehicle Fires Pose Unique Challenges for Firefighters
The Tesla electric semi truck’s crash and the fire that ensued were so bad that the highway had to stay closed until 7:20 p.m. that same day. This means that the road was shut down for about 16 hours.
During this period, firefighters worked to stop the fire and clean up the wreckage. The main problem was the EV battery, which kept burning for hours. The firefighters could not get too close to it because of the dangerous fumes, so they had to wait until the battery burned itself out.
This is not the first time something like this has happened. This particular fire occurred just three weeks after another fire involving a lithium-ion battery happened. The fire in the previous case was caused by a truck crash in San Bernardino County on the I-15 in Baker, California.
It took firefighters two days to get the fire under control as they could not fully put it out. They also had to shut down the freeway as the battery burned out on its own. When they tried to move the battery into the desert, the fire reignited and burned even hotter.
In 2021, an investigation by The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that electric car companies need to give clear instructions to firefighters and other emergency workers. These instructions need to show how to handle fires involving high-voltage EV batteries.
However, the agency does not have enforcement powers, they can only make suggestions. It is then up to the companies to decide if they would take the suggestions or not.
The Fire Could Have Been Much Worse: The Dangers of Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
The fire could have been a lot worse. The Tesla electric semi truck crashed near trees and bushes, and the fire could have spread to them easily. This situation like this could have been even more dangerous.
Thankfully, the firefighters were able to keep the fire limited to the side of the highway. However, at one point, it seemed like the fire could not be controlled due to the intense smoke from the burning battery.
Tesla usually uses its large electric semi trucks to move new EV batteries from the Gigafactory to its car manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. When the news of the fire initially broke out, there were concerns that these EV batteries had caught fire.
However, when firefighters arrived, they were relieved to see that the driver was only driving the truck‘s cab. He wasn’t pulling a trailer behind it. Things would have been much worse if the trailer had been attached to the cab.
Investigations are ongoing to find out what caused the crash. NTSB has sent a team to look into it. The main reason for this investigation is to study the risks of these lithium-ion batteries. This will help prevent something like this from happening again.
Fortunately, this time things didn’t really get out of control. However, no one can tell what can happen in the future. The hope is that the investigation will help figure out why these fires happen. It will also help discover what can be done to prevent them from happening again.
You Might Also Like:
Biden Set to Block $14.9 Billion Steel Deal, Delivering Major Blow to Key U.S. Ally
Visa Reveals Its Plan To Launch a New Product That Will Make Direct Bank Account Payment Safer
Ken Griffin Citadel Hedge Fund Navigates Volatile August, Securing a 1% Gain for Wellington
Cooper Union Tuition Restoration for Upcoming Graduating Seniors