50,000 gallons of water used to put out Tesla semi fire, safety review ongoing

New details emerged regarding a recent Tesla semi truck battery fire that led to the closure of a California freeway for approximately 15 hours. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), first responders used around 50,000 gallons of water to fully put out extinguish the fire. That is an amount equivalent to more than two average U.S. swimming pools.

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“The vehicle struck a traffic delineator permanently mounted on a steel post, collided with a tree about 12.5 inches in diameter, and continued down an earthen slope to rest against several trees,” the NTSB said in its initial findings released Thursday, Sept. 12. “The vehicle’s lithium-ion electric battery system ignited after the roadway departure, resulting in a postcrash fire. The driver was uninjured.”

After crews controlled the fire, authorities moved the truck to an open-air facility. Teams monitored it for 24 hours to ensure the battery did not reignite. Firefighters said previously that the Tesla vehicle’s battery reached temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit while it was on fire.

The NTSB is continuing to investigate the incident and is working to determine the exact cause of the fire. The agency also said that it plans to issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.