Underneath the billowing smoke, I could also see bright orange flames, ones that I was unable to capture on my phone while also navigating my car. It's not something that you ever want to see, but especially not when you're suspended over the San Francisco Bay.
My initial reaction was fear and panic; there was nowhere to turn around, and who knew if the fire would spread or be able to be contained?
The fear and panic slowly dissipated as the cars around me slowed to a crawl, and was replaced by confusion and curiosity. Several of the drivers around me seemed to be more fascinated than anything else. One gentleman next to me grinned and shrugged his shoulders before snapping away on his camera phone, while many others got out of their cars to arrive at better photographic vantage points.
On my end, it seemed as though Murphy's Law was in full effect. I thought the Dumbarton would be faster than the directions with which I was familiar; today, that was clearly incorrect. I also consumed a tall cup of coffee before hitting the road this morning, which left me dreaming that a Porta-Potty would manifest itself in the neighboring lane. It didn't. Furthermore, my cell phone battery was low, and I was briefly concerned that I'd be unable to contact anybody if conditions on the bridge worsened somehow.
But there was no need to worry! The police arrived first, and cleared the right-most lane for the remainder of emergency services to pass through. Minutes later, numerous fire trucks arrived; the smoke disappeared within minutes of their arrival, though I think the smaller flames took some time to extinguish.
I sat in my car for about an hour and a half, during which I listened to Avenue Q, read a few pages of The Kite Runner, texted my brother, explored some of my car's features, watched the news helicopters circling above, and lamented that I didn't own a car charger for my phone.
An interview with a policeman on the radio informed me that the accident had been caused by a car colliding into an oil rig, and that luckily, there were no fatalities. I got a good look at the fire's aftermath while driving over the bridge, and the car was a charred, broken mess.
As I exited the bridge, all I could think about was how wonderful emergency responders are. My interaction with policemen, firefighters, and paramedics has (thankfully) been extremely limited over the course of my life. But today, I got to see them in action. They responded quickly and they seemed expedient in their actions. The police eventually instructed all cars to merge into the left lane, which were to remain in until we reached the toll plaza at the bridge's end. When I passed the bulk of the police cars and fire engines, I could see how neatly they'd arranged everything; cones were set up, the policemen were scattered at proper locations, directing traffic, and in the brief interaction I had with them, they were calm and friendly.
But here's hoping my next journey over the Dumbarton is a little less eventful.
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