A significant stretch of US 95, located northwest of Las Vegas in Nye County, has been closed for a protracted period of nearly 18 hours following a dramatic collision between two semi-trucks. The incident, which occurred early Tuesday morning, involved one truck transporting lumber and the other loaded with lithium-ion batteries. The impact set off a devastating blaze fueled by the highly flammable batteries, creating an inferno that took hours to control.
The collision and subsequent fire, which erupted in the pre-dawn hours of September 17, led to the complete shutdown of US 95 as it approaches Las Vegas. Nevada State Police Highway Patrol officials have confirmed that while both drivers escaped without serious injuries, the nature of lithium-ion battery fires presents unique and extremely hazardous challenges. These fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish, emit lethal fumes, and have a high propensity for reigniting due to a chain reaction that often ignites all batteries in the cargo.
Even with the fire now under control, the highway remains impassable. Hazmat crews are working diligently to cleanse the roadway of the toxic remnants left behind by the fire. Until this thorough cleanup is deemed complete, southbound traffic must be redirected via SR-160 through Pahrump, Nevada, resulting in significant delays of up to two hours for travelers heading into Las Vegas from that area.
This incident marks the second lithium-ion battery-related fire to cause a major freeway closure in Las Vegas in less than two months. In a more severe occurrence, thousands of motorists heading to Las Vegas via Interstate 15 on the weekend of July 26 found themselves stranded for hours after a truck carrying 31,000 pounds of lithium-ion batteries overturned and erupted into uncontrollable flames.
In response to these alarming incidents, Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) emphasized the urgent need for federal regulations governing the transportation of lithium-ion batteries. Last week, she introduced the Thermal Runaway Reduction Act, proposing a mandate that limits batteries transported by ground to a maximum of 30% charge—a standard that aligns with current regulations for air transport.
“Without better regulation of the transport of these batteries, it is only a matter of time before these accidents and resulting fires take human lives,” Titus stated. She further highlighted the broader impacts, noting, “The resulting road closures and the amount of water needed to extinguish these fires have significant impacts on resources in our region. Congress needs to act quickly to enact life-saving regulations.”
