Overview
- A single BNSF railcar loaded with lithium-ion vehicle batteries caught fire in the Swarthout Canyon approach to Cajon Pass after crew members reported the train was being burglarized.
- Firefighters isolated the affected car onto a siding and spent hours dousing the container with water while hazardous-materials teams managed a difficult, limited-access site.
- Officials closed nearby roads as a precaution to keep flames from reaching brush and starting a vegetation fire, and the closures were lifted about five hours later.
- BNSF reported roughly a 10-hour suspension of operations on its main line between Chicago and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and warned of possible supply-chain effects.
- Responders said lithium-ion battery fires are resistant to suppression and can reignite, law enforcement is investigating the reported burglary, and rail operators are urging prosecution to deter similar incidents.