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Highway 80 reopens in both direction near Newcastle after downed power lines close lanes | Update

Some PG&E customers in the area are without power due to the crash, but a majority of the 10,000 who initially lost power have had it restored.

Credit: ABC10

A crash near Newcastle along Hwy. 80 shut down traffic Thursday morning.

NEWCASTLE, Calif — 11 a.m. update:

Caltrans is reporting that both westbound and eastbound lane of Hwy. 80 have reopened. The Placer County Sheriff's Office is reporting though that traffic is very slow moving.

Original story

Commuters on Highway 80 should expect delays after a car drove into a power pole, knocking it over and starting a fire.

Fire officials say the accident happened just after 7 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. The accident knocked over power lines, which are down across the freeway.

The following roads are closed:

Westbound Hwy. 80 is closed at Maple.
Eastbound is closed at Newcastle.

⚠️ Vehicle vs power pole on WB I-80 at Hwy 193. Brush fire also along WB I-80 at Hwy 93, and power line in road. Traffic stopped in both directions on I-80 at Newcastle. #TrafficAlert pic.twitter.com/Z3BCVFfX0C
— Placer Sheriff (@PlacerSheriff) October 22, 2020

According to Cal Fire's Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit, nobody was injured in the crash. Fire officials have tweeted that the fire started by the crash has been put out.

Officials estimate Hwy. 80 may remained closed for another couple hours. Roughly 10,000 PG&E customers in the area are without power due to the crash.

Stay with ABC10 as more information about this accident becomes available.

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