Tesla vehicle fire causes lane closure at WB I-10 near Date Palm Drive
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) - A Tesla vehicle caught on fire, causing a lane closure that leading to some traffic buildup on the westbound side of Interstate 10 near Date Palm Drive.
Traffic Alert - 12:02pm
— CHP Indio (@chpindio) March 6, 2025
Vehicle fire reported on I-10 w/b east of Date Palm Drive. The slow lane is closed at this time, expect traffic delays in the area.
The incident was first reported just before 11:00 a.m. when a Tesla vehicle was seen on fire.
Firefighters arrived and are attempted to put out the blaze.
Nearly 20 minutes after the incident was first reported, the California Highway Patrol issued a hard closure for the slow lane.
Traffic is starting to build up in the area.
Fires involving electric vehicles can be difficult to manage.
As one EV fire report in Massachusetts put it, batteries in electric vehicles can be hard to get to and flames are difficult to put out, and stranded energy that remains can easily reignite.
In 2021, the NTSB determined that high-voltage electric vehicle battery fires pose risks to first responders and that guidelines from manufacturers about how to deal with them were inadequate.
Last year, firefighters used 50,000 gallons of water to put out a Tesla semi fire near Sacramento. Officials noted that the battery reached temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (540 Celsius) while it was in flames.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.
