A truck full of lithium-ion batteries was hit near the port of Los Angeles on September 26, exploded and burned for days, disrupting traffic on freeways and a bridge, and shutting down port terminals. A local towing company, Pepe's Towing Service, caught the explosion on camera and blogged about the incident for days until it was time to transport the remains.
Pepe's Tow Service owner Josh Acosta uploaded an extensive video today chronicling the point of explosion, the long wait while the Fire Department let the batteries burn, and the process of lifting the container full of burned batteries for transport. In the video, we see what look like battery stacks with liquid cooling tubes between each layer.
Image: Pepe's Tow Truck Service
Image: Pepe's Tow Truck Service
Image: Pepe's Tow Truck Service
In a phone call with The edgeAcosta says the battery is a “giant container-sized battery” that “doesn't fall apart.” He believes it could be used in buildings as backup power. According to Acosta, the battery weighed 60,000 pounds.
Acosta says he doesn't remember which company owns the container that transported the battery, but his video anyway blurs the text on the side of the container.
The video shows the painstaking logistics of firefighters dealing with burning lithium-ion cells: They often need to use thousands of gallons of water to put them out, even in electric vehicle fires. And in this case, the Los Angeles Fire Department said The edge that the fire kept turning on and off.
Acosta told us that he was called to work by the client who owned the overturned truck and that's why he captured the moment on camera. Now, Pepe's Towing is hauling the remains of the container for scrap metal recycling.
