East County

Big-Rigs overturn on I-8 near Alpine amid Santa Ana winds

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Several big rig trucks overturned on Interstate 8 in the Alpine area Tuesday morning amid gusty Santa Ana winds around 60 mph.

Around 8 a.m. Tuesday, Caltrans said high-profile vehicles on eastbound I-8 were being diverted off the freeway at Willows Road. Low-profile vehicles are allowed to continue on EB I-8.

NBC 7 Meteorologist Greg Bledsoe said a gust around 9:50 a.m. was recorded at 71 mph at the location of the diversion.

Video showed at least three big-rig trucks flipped onto their sides or jack-knifed on the roadway.

At 10:40 a.m., dozens of semi-trucks were pulled off the I-8 east of Alpine while large gusts of wind blew through the area. Caltrans workers and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were guiding traffic. 

The roadway was reopened to all traffic around 9:30 a.m. but windy conditions remained.

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