California Republican lawmakers urged Governor Gavin Newsom to push back his Advanced Clean Fleets mandate, which requires all medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the state to go electric by 2045. The call came in response to two major fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.
On Monday, legislative Republicans made their case in a letter to Newsom that California is unprepared for implementation of the electric-vehicle-fleets mandate, which became law in October 2023. The regulation originated from Newsom’s 2020 executive order and was headed by the California Air Resources Board, a regulatory agency that seeks to reduce air pollution.
The GOP-led plea comes after a semi-trailer truck carrying lithium-ion batteries overturned and caught fire on Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County last month. The fire shut down the interstate for two days, starting on July 26, trapping motorists in their vehicles in 109-degree heat near Baker, Calif.
While the San Bernardino County Fire Department and other agencies were dispatched to the site, they could not extinguish the fire. When water comes into contact with lithium batteries, toxic fumes emit into the air with a potential risk for thermal runaway. Because of this, first responders were forced to let the fire burn out on its own.
“Unlike when a diesel truck catches fire, it is basically impossible to extinguish an electric vehicle fire,” California state representative Tom Lackey wrote in the letter, signed by 20 other Republican legislators. “Moreover, the batteries in an electric truck can weigh up to 16,000 pounds — making the removal of the disabled truck difficult at best. So the road has to remain closed until it burns out.”
All 21 lawmakers inquired whether Newsom has a plan for responding to electric-truck fires and a strategy for preventing extended road closures. The signatories also asked whether the governor’s administration has a plan for protecting the surrounding communities from toxic gas in the event of such a fire.
“If one diesel truck carrying six batteries can shut down a major highway for 48 hours, what will happen when the highways are swarming with electric trucks powered by these batteries?” they asked.
Newsom’s office reportedly said it is working on an emergency response.
Also on Monday, a second lithium-battery fire broke out on a Tesla big-rig truck as it was traveling on Interstate 80 through the Sierra Nevada in northern California. The freeway was closed in both directions for 16 hours as a result.
The letter was presumably finalized before Monday’s fire, as it makes no mention of the latest incident. Lackey cited the I-80 fire in two social-media posts Monday afternoon and night as another reason why the Advanced Clean Fleets mandate should be delayed.
“Public safety is not the only concern with this ill-conceived mandate,” the Republican lawmakers wrote. “With its sweeping requirements, many employers and residents in the state will be negatively impacted. Hence, we ask that you delay the implementation of your Advanced Clean Fleets mandate.”
As part of the statewide push to transition to zero-emission vehicles, California plans to completely ban the sale of new gas- and diesel-powered cars and light trucks by 2035, in addition to making semi-trailers all-electric by 2045. Drayage trucks, which transport shipping containers to the state’s ports, will undergo the change by 2035.