A drone view of traffic on Highway 24 eastbound, right, heading towards the Caldecott Tunnel in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND — A pickup truck fire Tuesday morning closed an eastbound bore of the Caldecott Tunnel for more than two hours, officials said.
No injuries were reported.
The fire was reported about 9:53 a.m. on eastbound Highway 24 in bore 2 of the tunnel, the California Highway Patrol said.
A Ford F150 caught fire about halfway in the tunnel, causing some 20 to 30 other vehicles to be stuck in the backup, the CHP said. The occupants of the vehicles self-evacuated, and their vehicles were removed later, authorities said
Oakland firefighters responded to the scene and a SigAlert was issued about 10:07 a.m. closing both bore 1 and 2 to allow firefighters to fight the fire, which caused thick smoke to billow from the tunnel..
One lane of eastbound bore 1 was reopened about 10:21 a.m. and the other soon after.
More than 30 Oakland firefighters responded and had the fire under control about 10:30 a.m., Battalion Chief Frank Tijiboy said. Bore 2 remained closed until at least noon, while the burned truck was removed and cleanup was conducted. It was not immediately known when the bore would reopen.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Originally published at Harry Harris