UPDATE: Truck Driver Airlifted After Big-Rig Fire, Crash On I-580

LIVERMORE, CA - A big-rig driver had to be airlifted from Interstate Highway 580 in unincorporated Alameda County this afternoon after suffering burn injuries when his vehicle caught fire, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The big-rig fire was reported shortly before noon on the highway's eastbound lanes near the North Flynn Road off-ramp east of Livermore, CHP officials said. Two big-rigs were apparently involved in a crash and one of the vehicles then became engulfed in flames, CHP Officer Tyler Hahn said.

The CHP issued a Sig-alert at 12:08 p.m. alerting motorists that three right lanes on the highway's eastbound side were closed.

Shortly before 1 p.m., all the lanes were temporarily closed while a medical helicopter landed near the scene to transport the driver of the burnt big-rig for treatment of burn injuries, Hahn said. Flames from the big-rig blaze had also spread to nearby grass, but the CHP reported at 1:07 p.m. that fire crews had knocked down the small grass fire.

The CHP also reported at that time that two lanes had reopened but the big-rig still needs to be towed away from the scene. The remaining lanes will reopen sometime after 2 p.m., Hahn said.

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--Bay City News