50,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish fiery Tesla crash on California highway

Firefighters used 50,000 gallons of water to put out a fire after a Tesla employee driving a 2024 Tesla Semi tractor crashed the truck on a California interstate last month and the vehicle caught on fire.

The findings were part of a preliminary report the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued on Thursday. The thousands of gallons of water were used to “extinguish the flames and cool the vehicle’s batteries,” the report read.

The fire broke out around 3:13 p.m. on Aug. 19 on Interstate 80 in Emigrant Gap, California, about 70 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe, the NTSB said in its report. 

The fiery crash, which also emitted toxic fumes and prompted forestry officials to apply fire retardant to the area, is the latest instance of a Tesla electric vehicle fire requiring mass amounts water to extinguish.

In August 2021, firefighters trying to extinguish an Austin, Texas fire following a Tesla crash used 40 times the amount of water normally needed with fires involving gas-powered vehicles, according to The Hill.

And back in December 2023, firefighters in Alabama used over 36,000 gallons of water to put out a fire involving a Tesla, reported Carscoops. That's about 36 times the amount of water needed for fires involving oil-powered vehicles.

What happened in the crash?

A Tesla employee crashed in the 2024 Tesla Semi, a battery-powered truck-tractor, while traveling east on I-80. The driver was headed to a Tesla facility in Sparks, Nevada.

The driver drove off the road while making a turn and going uphill. The Tesla hit a traffic delineator mounted on a steel post, hit a tree about 12 ½ inches thick and continued down a slope until it stopped against multiple trees, the NTSB said.

“The vehicle’s lithium-ion electric battery system ignited after the roadway departure, resulting in a post crash fire,” the agency concluded. 

The Tesla employee driving the vehicle wasn’t hurt.

Tesla vehicle did not reignite during 24-hour observation period

The California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the California Department of Transportation came to the scene to help, NTSB said in its preliminary report. 

The crash released toxic fumes into the air that posed an inhalation danger, and traffic on I-80 was diverted while emergency responders used about 50,000 gallons of water to put out the fire and cool the truck’s batteries. 

Tesla also sent a technical expert to the scene to help with high-voltage hazards and fire safety assessments. 

Emergency responders also took air quality measurements and used a thermal scanner to monitor the batteries’ temperature. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also used an aircraft to apply fire retardant to the area “as a precautionary measure,” the NTSB said.

​The westbound and eastbound lanes of I-80 were closed for 14 to 15 hours so firefighters could make sure the batteries were at a safe temperature for vehicle recovery operations. They also wanted to prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding forested areas. 

The tractor was taken to an open-air facility and monitored for 24 hours. Neither the truck or its battery system reignited during observation.

​”All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events,” NTSB wrote. “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.”

Contributing: Julia Gomez, USA TODAY

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her atsdmartin@usatoday.com.