A cleanup effort is underway in Richmond after a tanker truck fire stopped traffic for hours on Interstate 80 Saturday.
The fire, which was on westbound I-80 at Hilltop Drive, has been put out, according to Rico Rincon, fire captain with the Richmond Fire Department. No one was seriously injured.
The blaze occurred after a crash between a motorcycle and a double-tanker gasoline truck at 10:48 Saturday morning.
The crash initially resulted in a fire in the truck’s engine compartment, which spread to one of the tanks, fully engulfing it.
Both directions of the highway were closed between El Portal Drive and Hilltop Drive, however eastbound I-80 has reopened. Westbound lanes were still closed for cleanup as of 7 p.m. Saturday.
A shelter-in-place was ordered by the Richmond Police and Fire Departments for residents in Fairmede Hilltop and Rolling Hills Memorial Park due to the chemical blaze. It was lifted at about 6:30 p.m.