'Like a bomb went off '
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- Amid the piles of twisted, blackened metal sat one recognizable vehicle: a pale blue truck cab, its right turn signal still blinking.
It was a reminder of how suddenly and furiously a rainy but fairly routine night on a major Southern California freeway turned into an inferno that sent motorists scrambling for their lives.
Several semi trucks had piled up in a crash that sent flames shooting from both ends of the Interstate 5 tunnel, killing at least two people and injuring 10.
By Saturday, the rain had stopped, but this winding section of highway that carries travelers out of the high desert and through a warren of canyons as it descends into Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley seemed more like a war zone than a freeway.
"It looked like a bomb went off," said Los Angeles County firefighter Scott Clark, who arrived along with about 300 other firefighters soon after the 11 p.m. crash. He and most of the others stayed well past dawn to battle the flames, which reached as high as 100 feet into the sky.
The pileup, triggered by the collision of two big rigs, quickly grew as vehicles struck others. Five trucks burst into flames, and the fire quickly spread to the other vehicles.
Twenty people escaped the burning tunnel, including 10 who suffered minor to moderate injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Jason Hurd said. They were taken to hospitals and treated for neck and back injuries and burns.
Hours later, the stubborn fire finally doused, the bodies of two people were found inside the tunnel.
The flames and smoke kept firefighters from entering the tunnel until mid-afternoon Saturday, when they began hauling out piles of wreckage and looking for victims with the help of state transportation workers.
"We're going to have to do a very methodical search," Deputy Chief John Tripp had said earlier. "There could be, unfortunately, more people that were not able to escape."
Although the tunnel is designed to carry truck traffic through a mountain pass area, Hurd said passenger cars also use it, raising concerns some might have been trapped inside.
The fire's intense heat also caused concrete to crack and melt, sending chucks falling onto a road below.
At a news conference Saturday, authorities said they hoped to complete their search for victims today and reopen the interstate Tuesday.
Interstate 5 is a key route connecting Los Angeles to Northern California, as well as a major commuter link connecting Los Angeles to its northern suburbs. There are likely to be massive traffic jams in the area if it is still closed when people return to work Monday.