The truck burned for hours as responders managed battery hazards, smoke concerns and the challenge of reopening Interstate 880 safely.
HAYWARD, Calif. — A lithium-ion battery fire involving a Tesla Semi kept emergency crews on Interstate 880 for hours Tuesday night, forcing a lengthy freeway shutdown and highlighting the difficult recovery work that can follow a fire in a large battery-electric truck.
The fire was reported at about 5:35 p.m. in the southbound lanes near Highway 92. The California Highway Patrol closed both directions of I-880 between Winton Avenue and the interchange about 10 minutes later because officials were concerned about potentially hazardous smoke. Northbound lanes reopened around 8:40 p.m., while southbound lanes remained closed until about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
Officials said the Tesla Semi’s lithium-ion battery was burning, creating a response that could not be treated like a routine vehicle fire. Authorities warned Tuesday evening that the truck might continue burning for many hours, and crews had to wait until conditions allowed the damaged vehicle to be handled and the freeway safely reopened.
The driver told the CHP that the truck caught fire and that the reason was unknown, according to local reports citing the agency. Officials had not announced a cause Wednesday morning. No other vehicles were reported to have been involved, leaving investigators to determine what happened before the fire began.
Tesla identifies the Semi as a high-voltage battery-electric vehicle in information provided for first responders. Its rescue material warns emergency personnel about high-voltage components and lithium-ion battery hazards, reflecting the additional precautions responders can face after a serious fire or collision involving an electric commercial vehicle.
The Hayward fire was not the first Tesla Semi incident to require an extended highway response in California. In August 2024, a Tesla Semi left Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap in Placer County, struck roadside objects and caught fire after its lithium-ion battery system ignited, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
That earlier incident followed a crash, unlike the circumstances publicly described so far in Hayward. The NTSB said responders at Emigrant Gap used about 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish flames and cool the batteries. Interstate 80 remained closed for as long as 15 hours while crews monitored battery temperatures and prepared the vehicle for recovery. The driver in that crash was not injured.
The comparison does not establish why the Hayward truck caught fire, and investigators had not linked the two incidents. It does show why emergency officials may maintain road closures long after the first flames are reported. Battery temperature, smoke conditions, high-voltage hazards and the safe removal of a damaged heavy truck can all affect when a roadway can be returned to traffic.
In Hayward, those concerns turned an evening fire into an overnight operation. Traffic was diverted away from the southbound freeway while emergency personnel remained at the scene, and northbound lanes were also temporarily closed because of the possible smoke hazard.
All lanes were open again by Wednesday morning. The immediate emergency had ended, but the central question remained unresolved: Authorities had not said what caused the Tesla Semi’s battery fire, and the CHP said the incident remained under investigation.
Author note: Last updated October 28, 2026.