15 Freeway between LA, Las Vegas reopens following major truck fire, hazmat situation

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. - A major highway connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas was closed for more than a day after a truck carrying lithium batteries caught on fire, triggering a hazmat situation in triple-digit temperatures.

It happened around 10 a.m. Friday, in the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 near Baker, the San Bernardino County Fire Department reported. The truck overturned around mile marker 113, leaking fuel, which then caught fire. Adding to the difficulty, the truck was carrying lithium-ion batteries, which also started to burn.

That's a problem, the SBCFD says, because when lithium-ion batteries catch fire, it "can escalate to thermal runaway, needing massive amounts of water to extinguish."

Both sides of the 15 Freeway were closed near Baker for most of Friday, with the southbound lanes reopening around 3 p.m. Northbound lanes were closed Saturday as crews faced three big challenges: the traffic, the heat, and the container.

Temperatures near Baker Friday reached 110 degrees and 111 degrees Saturday afternoon. The county fire department said that dispatch has received numerous calls since the closure for people suffering heat-related emergencies, including many people who were trapped on the roads in the heat without water.

To help with that, the SBCFD brought supplies to the Clyde V Kane Rest Stop off of the northbound lanes of the 15 Freeway south of Afton Canyon Road.

For the traffic, the California Highway Patrol alternated traffic using just the southbound lanes.

The fire also raised air quality concerns in the area, because of the hazardous chemicals that have burned. Crews were monitoring the air for chemicals like hydrogen cyanide and chlorine, which fire officials say are "particularly dangerous even at low concentrations."

CHP Barstow tweeted just after 5 a.m. Sunday that all lanes of the 15 Freeway were open.