GEORGETOWN — Colorado transportation officials are building the capacity to handle car and truck fires inside the state’s big two, high-traffic Interstate 70 tunnels, driven by concerns about electric vehicle batteries that can burn for hours and potential catastrophes if people are trapped.
The officials voiced those concerns Wednesday as a brigade of state firefighters trained at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel, spraying water from a $700,000 pumper truck, a smaller “quick reaction” pumper truck, and hoses. Another brigade trained at the Hanging Lake Tunnel in Glenwood Canyon. A few years ago, CDOT crews at the Eisenhower Tunnel, which runs for 1.7 miles under the Continental Divide, relied on a single 30-year-old fire truck.
At least four certified firefighters man the Eisenhower tunnel around the clock, tasked with responding in seconds if sensors detect flames — first evacuating people, then clearing vehicles, then activating a $25 million automated spray system. “We never know what’s going to happen. We always have to be ready,” four-year firefighter Damion Sands said during a break. They count on support from full fire crews arriving from Summit County to the west or Clear Creek County to the east.
For decades, CDOT has managed the vehicle fire risks from industry tanker trucks hauling oil, gas, and other hazardous materials on I-70. State officials have relied on the practice of diverting all hazmat trucks off I-70 and over 11,990-foot Loveland Pass.
But now there’s a new threat.
“What we’re worried about is the EV fires. They don’t go out,” said Jori Ernst, CDOT’s emergency manager, during the training. “We’re not going to be able to fight them.”
Firefighters in full yellow garb, lugging respirators, practiced with hoses and water spray guns that can be controlled using joy sticks inside the trucks. They’re developing strategies for removing burning EVs from the tunnel and letting them burn outside. Crews are practicing with EV fire blankets — heavy tarps they can throw over burning vehicles to contain flames.
There’s never been a fatality caused by a vehicle fire in the Colorado I-70 mountain tunnels. But the a year ago in Wyoming that killed three people, and the 1999 in Europe that killed 39 people, have spurred safety efforts worldwide.
While EV risks aren’t fully understood, firefighters know the batteries that power them “burn hot, and release a lot of toxins,” complicating responses, CDOT fire program manager Peter Igel said. “Do we prevent the exposures and let those fires burn? Or do we try to suppress the fire? If the fire is in the tunnel, hopefully, we can move the burning vehicle outside.”
Since 2017, vehicles have caught fire and burned in the Eisenhower tunnel five times, forcing closures that lasted up to 14 hours, said Paul Fox, manager of CDOT’s tunnels.
The last fire on July 17, 2023, engulfed a van carrying 10 tourists, leading to an eight-hour closure. “We got them all out. They were worried about their luggage,” Fox said.
Another fire broke out in a box truck loaded with cardboard, he said. And one broke in an RV when a generator ignited.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter what starts the fire. It is if the big one happens. We are just worried about that.”
