Port of Los Angeles Closes Terminals After Lithium Battery Fire - New York Times

By John Yoon | New York Times | Sept. 27, 2024

A tractor-trailer carrying large lithium-ion batteries overturned on a highway in Los Angeles on Thursday, sparking a fire, closing part of a freeway and terminals at the Port of Los Angeles, and causing traffic backups.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement Thursday night that the fire was expected to burn for at least another 24 to 48 hours and that a roughly seven-mile stretch of California State Route 47, from the Vincent Thomas Bridge to Long Beach, would be closed in that period.

The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere, said that several terminals would be closed on Friday.

The crash in the San Pedro neighborhood on Thursday morning did not result in any injuries, but fire crews were taking precautions to block hazardous materials from potentially spreading from the batteries, one of which exploded, the department said.

The explosion caused the batteries to ignite, causing a “thermal runaway,” a chain reaction in which heat develops extremely quickly, Capt. Adam Van Gerpen of the Los Angeles Fire Department told reporters...more
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/27/us/los-angeles-lithium-battery-fire-ports.html



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