VIDEO: About eight weeks after a fire shut down Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) is proposing new rules on the transportation of lithium-ion batteries.
The 44-hour closure of I-15 about 25 miles east of Barstow was a major problem for weekend travelers on their way to Las Vegas. A flatbed truck carrying six industrial-grade batteries overturned on the shoulder of northbound I-15, stopping traffic for miles in 110-degree heat. Now Titus has introduced the “Thermal Runaway Reduction Act,” which focuses on ways to reduce the potential for thermal runaway — when the temperature of a battery increases uncontrollably, often leading to a fire. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman cited the crash and freeway closure as more evidence that California should take steps to widen I-15.