Big rig fire closes both directions of Highway 50 in El Dorado County, CHP says
A big rig fire that spread into vegetation Friday closed Highway 50 in both directions in El Dorado County, delaying holiday traffic for more than six hours as the Fourth of July weekend got underway.
The fire broke out just east of Kyburz and involved a fully engulfed tractor-trailer, according to social media posts just before 11:30 a.m. by the California Highway Patrol’s Placerville office and Cal Fire.
The fire spread to a nearby hillside, photos posted by the CHP showed. No injuries have been reported, according to the CHP activity log.
The CHP South Lake Tahoe office said the highway reopened with one-way traffic control just after 1 p.m.
Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado unit in a Facebook post said its firefighters, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, stopped forward progress on the vegetation fire and it spread to both sides of the highway.
Cal Fire said crews would be working to mop up hot spots for “several hours.” Motorists were advised to use alternate routes.
Shortly after 6 p.m. Friday, the CHP and Caltrans announced on social media that Highway 50 had reopened in both directions.
This story was originally published July 1, 2022 at 11:47 AM.
