A semi-truck overturned Tuesday evening on State Route 70 near the Pulga Bridge, blocking both lanes of the narrow, winding mountain highway and spilling a large load of lumber across the roadway.
The crash was reported at 6:10 p.m. by a Chico resident who happened to be in the area and was able to call 911 via a Starlink satellite connection, since there was no cell service at the scene.
The truck came to rest just south of the Pulga Bridge at mile marker 40.59, leaving lumber scattered from guardrail to guardrail with no safe path for passing vehicles.
At 7:14 p.m., Caltrans District 2 requested a hard closure of the highway on the Butte County side up to Caltrans Station 97. One minute later, Caltrans asked the California Highway Patrol in Quincy to stop all traffic at the Greenville Wye to prevent additional vehicles from entering the closure zone.
The driver, who told witnesses it was his first time on Highway 70, was not injured. Brower’s Towing dispatched a standard tow truck and requested a heavy-duty wrecker to help upright the tractor-trailer and clear the roadway.
Responders also explored using a loader from the nearby Pulga maintenance yard to assist with removing the scattered lumber. Witnesses described significant skid marks leading to the overturned rig.
As night fell, Caltrans crews worked under portable lighting to load the lumber onto waiting flatbeds. As of 9:30 p.m., Highway 70 remained closed in both directions while cleanup continued.
