The northbound side of the heavily traveled 15 Freeway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas has been closed since early Friday morning, when a big rig carrying lithium batteries overturned, caught fire and created a chemical hazard — and a traffic nightmare stretching for miles in the desert heat.
As of Saturday night, the California Highway Patrol had not estimated when the northbound lanes would reopen. Earlier in the evening, the truck was still smoldering, but by night the fire had been put out, according to CHP.
“Once hazmat personnel have deemed the area safe, reopening of the northbound lanes will be discussed, with the goal of opening all lanes as soon as possible,” the CHP said in a Facebook post.
With the 15’s main lanes to Las Vegas closed, many travelers turned to alternate routes such as the 40 Freeway. But the desolate highway that runs southeast from Barstow quickly clogged up.
In a flurry of social media posts, people complained about being stuck in standstill traffic while baking in 100-degree heat. Many wrote that authorities had greatly mishandled the situation by failing to warn people to steer clear of congested roads, and said time estimates on GPS maps were incorrect. They described potentially dangerous conditions with cars overheating, or running out of gas or electric charge. Other highways such as the 118 were also reportedly congested.
“Just hit my 6th hour stuck in this I-40 traffic grid lock. my thermometer has read 105-115 and people are stranded on both sides of the road running out of gas, no food or water for miles,” X user @travislaine wrote.
One Facebook user wrote that some drivers on the 40, not willing to wait, drove on the wrong side of the freeway against oncoming traffic.
“There is no traffic control no state patrol no signs no nothing just people getting impatient in the desert … This is gonna get dangerous,” the user, Tiffany Cordova, wrote.
“Maps apps are not accurate with the amount of time it is taking,” one Facebook user wrote. “Avoid if you can!”
A CHP spokesperson confirmed reports of heavy congestion and people stranded on the 40 Saturday, and said the agency had sent multiple units from other offices to assist. The spokesperson suggested that drivers find hotels or other safe places to wait out the traffic.
The single-vehicle crash occurred shortly after 6 a.m. Friday near the 15’s Afton Road exit, between Barstow and Baker in San Bernardino County. Northbound traffic had since been rerouted in the area to share the freeway’s southbound lanes, the CHP said. Southbound lanes were initially closed after the crash as well, but reopened Saturday morning, officials said.
Multiple attempts were made to move the truck’s hazardous container from the freeway shoulder to open land using heavy equipment from the San Bernardino County Fire District, the department said on X Saturday morning.
“However, the container’s weight, exceeding 75,000 pounds, has made these efforts unsuccessful so far,” fire officials said.
The freeway closure was necessary, the agency said, because “lithium-ion fires are particularly hazardous due to the chemicals released during off-gassing.”
The remote location of the accident also created difficulty for emergency responders.
“One of the significant challenges in this remote area is the logistics of transporting equipment, personnel, and water to the scene,” fire officials said. “This area of the county is very distant from many of our stations. … Current traffic conditions have further increased these response times.”
Air quality within the hazardous zone is being monitored, the CHP said.
Emergency personnel established a buffer area around the truck’s hazardous container that stretched about a third of a mile, CHP said on Facebook, citing “the inherent danger of the fire and potential inhalation hazard.”
By Saturday night, CHP reported that crews were in the process of checking the dirt around the hazardous trailer.
“Heavy duty equipment to move the trailer is on scene and efforts to move the trailer will continue once deemed safe for the crews. This is an ever changing hazmat incident and crews are working around the clock,” CHP said in a Facebook post at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Alex Sanchez, who drove back to the Los Angeles area Saturday after a trip to Laughlin, said he was horrified to see “miles upon miles” of bumper to bumper northbound traffic on the 40, with people milling about around cars stuck on the side of the road.
Sanchez said he saw many ambulances and fire trucks responding to various vehicles pulled over along the highway, especially around Ludlow, where temperatures hit above 110 degrees.
Raj Chipalu said he began his drive at about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday from Ontario. His GPS showed it would take about 4 hours and 45 minutes to drive to Vegas. After getting stuck on the 15, Chipalu rerouted to the 40, which was so jammed it took hours to move just one mile. Chipalu switched off his air conditioning for much of the drive to preserve fuel. He eventually made it to Vegas — in 13 hours.
Palm Springs City Councilmember Lisa Middleton spent Saturday afternoon on multiple phone calls with her son, who had planned a road trip. He left Ventura County Saturday morning and got stuck in the back up on the 40 in “the absolute middle of the desert,” she said.
Ultimately, Middleton said her son drove back to Barstow and then charted a route north on the 395 through Death Valley, reaching the Nevada state line in about 10 hours.
“There was precious little information, because they were in an area where internet service is at best spotty,” Middleton said. She said all the hiccups and lack of information people have had on the road today “raises the question of reliability of GPS systems that so many of us take for granted.”
