Westbound Bay Bridge lanes reopen after big-rig fire near Treasure Island
All lanes of the westbound direction of the Bay Bridge reopened Friday afternoon, hours after a tractor trailer caught fire during the morning commute, causing a traffic nightmare ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
According to the California Highway Patrol, all lanes were open as of 5:40 p.m., more than eight hours after the incident started.
CHP issued a severe traffic alert at 9:23 a.m. after the tractor-trailer fire just east of Treasure Island shut down the right and center lanes of the bridge.
KCBS Traffic posted about the fire at 9:12 a.m. with a Caltrans photo showing the flames coming from the truck.
X user @maksim_ioffe posted video of the trailer fire just minutes before that showed the trailer fully involved and the cab of the truck having pulled a safe distance away.
Truck on fire on westbound eastern span of Bay Bridge right before tunnel entrance. The truck just finished detaching itself from the trailer engulfed in flames and is driving off.
— Maksim Ioffe (@maksim_ioffe) May 24, 2024
Driver must have realized trailer was on fire and made a great last second call to not enter… pic.twitter.com/tEuOtBLowo
"Driver must have realized trailer was on fire and made a great last second call to not enter," the post read.
CHP later confirmed the rear wheels of the trailer caught fire before igniting the rest of the trailer, which was transporting oranges.
The fire was extinguished quickly, but westbound lanes remained closed for a period of time. CHP advised that the center lanes had reopened shortly before 10 a.m., but the right lanes remained blocked.
San Francisco Fire assisted on the incident and posted photos and video showing the dramatic blaze.
UPDATE
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) May 24, 2024
Tractor Trailer Fire 89 WB at WBI
One lane is open WB, and we are working on opening a second lane.
This is a produce load quickly extinguished by #SFFD Treasure Island crews.
No injuries
NEXT STEPS (estimated 45 minutes from 09:45)
Extinguish smoldering load
Work… https://t.co/4UKawuYeWV pic.twitter.com/ql4t3yJQLa
There were no injuries in the trailer fire, San Francisco Fire said.
Earlier Friday morning, another severe traffic alert was issued in the eastbound direction of the Bay Bridge after an injury accident involving a driver who was reportedly traveling almost 100 mph. That incident closed lanes for an hour.