On September 26, a truck loaded with lithium-ion batteries overturned near the Port of Los Angeles, exploded and burned for days, disrupting traffic on a highway and a bridge and shutting down the port terminal. Pepe’s Towing Service, a local towing company, captured the explosion on camera and recorded the incident on video for several days until they towed away the remains.
Pepe’s Tow Service owner Josh Acosta uploaded a lengthy video today documenting the site of the explosion, the fire department’s long wait to let the batteries burn, and the process of lifting the container full of charred batteries for transport. In the video, we see what looks like a stack of batteries, with liquid cooling tubes between each layer.
Image: Pepe’s Towing Service
Image: Pepe’s Towing Services
Image: Pepe’s Towing Services
with edgeAcosta said the battery is a “giant container-sized battery” that “will not decompose.” He believes it could be used as a backup power source in buildings. According to Acosta, the battery weighs 60,000 pounds.
Acosta said he couldn’t remember which company owned the container that shipped the batteries, but his video anyway blurred the writing on the side of the container.
The film shows the grueling logistics of firefighters dealing with burning lithium-ion batteries – which they often need to use thousands of gallons of water to extinguish, including electric vehicle fires. In this case, the Los Angeles Fire Department told edge The fire had been going on and off.
Acosta tells us the client who flipped the truck called him to work, which is why he captured the moment on camera. Now, Pepe Towing is hauling the remainder of the container for scrap recycling.
