Thread: Fiery Tunnel accident closes part of I-5 near LA

If you are cruising out of LA this weekend, allow extra time to get to the port. There is a "massive" traffic back-up on I-5 NW of Los Angeles.

A multiple vehicle accident uring the night resulting in a huge fire in a tunnel on I-5 has closed part of that freeway.

At least 15 trucks were involved in the accident which resulted in one known fatality and 10 injuries.

Five vehicles are still on fire, and the structural integrity of the tunnel is now in question.

The freeway closing is expected to continue for at least the remainder of today.

This is one of the reasons that I like to fly into Long Beach instead of LA. Traffic can be a nightmare.

I-5 around the Newhall Pass (this is the area north of the 118 freeway and south of the Grapevine) may be closed thru Tuesday. So if you're planning to drive down to LA, you may want to take the 101. If going this way to the ports, the 101 connects to the 405 South around Sherman Oaks. Then the 405 connects to the Harbor Freeway. You get off at the Harbor Blvd. offramp and stay in the center lane, go across Harbor Blvd., and voila, you are at the World Cruise Center.

The 5 below this point is not affected at all, except maybe any backed-up traffic.

Originally Posted by Blizzard

This is one of the reasons that I like to fly into Long Beach instead of LA. Traffic can be a nightmare.

The freeways leading into LAX won't be affected at all by the accident, but will be their usual horrific headache around the airport.

I just checked the Magic Mountain website and couldn't find anything about the freeway closure. I think the offramp is within the closed area, which means that anyone wanting to go to the amusement park this week will have to go the long way around into Valencia (I guess the 14 into Santa Clarita).

Hubby said, "Good thing we went there last weekend."

Many thanks to Patty for the updates on this from the area!

Sad to hear they found a third victim... a child.

According to KABC-TV, about 15 minutes ago, Interstate 5 should be reopened in time for rush hour tomorrow. That's good news for those making the commute between the Newhall Pass and Los Angeles County.

Hopefully this will happened as there's no way to avoid a commuting nightmare. Even the Metrolink system was predicting full trains, even with adding trains to their schedules. A couple of men who work for my hubby live up there and drive or take the train into downtown LA, so he'll be glad if they don't have the extra hassle.

I saw a news report this morning that said there were actually 31 vehicles involved, instead of the 15 that were originally reported.

Here's some more info and a link to some video, etc.

Traffic Flows On 5 Freeway After Weekend Closure - News Story - KNBC | Los Angeles

Turns out one of the fatalities is the driver who had called his family. He couldn't get out of the tunnel in time. Very sad.

I-5 reopened early this morning, except for the truck route. That might be closed for about a month or so. Metrolink had added some cars and extra trains going south.

The cause is still under investigation (hopefully they will be able to determine it). The CHP is asking any witnesses to report in.

On the 5 o'clock report, it was reported that all the injured have been released from the hospitals.