Homes evacuated after electric vehicle catches fire in Ventura County [CA]

ktla ^

[BenLurkin]

An electric vehicle caught fire in Ojai on Saturday, prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders in a nearby residential area.

The vehicle, the maker of which not identified, caught fire due to thermal runway, according to the fire department. Thermal runway, a “challenging and hazardous condition,” is a process that occurs when a battery uncontrollably reaches high temperatures incredibly quickly.

The department said the safest approach to such a blaze is to let it burn in a controlled environment. Direct extinguishment can exacerbate the fire, authorities said.

The orders were expected to last about 3 hours.

[know.your.why]

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Lithium flame is actually a very pretty purple-pink color. Problem is its hot enough to melt glass and water just makes the reaction worse. Wanna do an exciting party trick? Charge up any lithium battery and drill a small hole through it with your handy cordless drill.

[Reeses]

Tesla rockets have built-in explosives, for safety reasons, in case an out of control rocket threatens neighbors. Tesla batteries could have something similar. Compressed CO2 cartridges built into a battery might work. Overheated cartridges would safely blow the battery apart at the right millisecond, while suppressing combustion.