50,000 gallons of water needed to put out Tesla semi fire on I-80 in California

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday an August 19 Tesla semi truck fire after a crash on I-80 in Placer County , Calif., took about 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish.

The Tesla semi was traveling from Livermore, Calif., to Tesla's Sparks Nevada facility. The crash and subsequent fire closed eastbound and westbound I-80 for more than 14 hours.

"Traffic on I-80 was diverted as emergency responders worked to control the fire, using about 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames and cool the vehicle's batteries," the NTSB said in a statement. "Air quality measurements were conducted, and a thermal scanner monitored the batteries' temperature. Additionally, CAL FIRE used an aircraft to apply fire retardant to the immediate area as a precautionary measure."

The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash.

The battery-powered 2024 Tesla semi left the road while rounding a right-hand curve uphill and hit a tree in a single-vehicle crash.

"The vehicle's lithium-ion electric battery system ignited after the roadway departure, resulting in a post-crash fire," NTSB's statement said. "The driver was uninjured."

Responding to the scene were the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the California Department of Transportation.

According to the NTSB, "While the Tesla Semi was equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), ADAS was not operational on the vehicle and could not be engaged at the time of the crash."