OAKLAND — Weather-related travel woes doubled Tuesday afternoon after live power lines fell across both directions of Interstate 880 in East Oakland, trapping motorists in their vehicles and starting a brush fire, authorities said.

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The wires, brought down by a big-rig truck on city streets that struck a pole, fell about 12:22 p.m. mainly onto the southbound lanes of the freeway, just north of High Street, the California Highway Patrol said.

Both directions were initially closed, but the CHP reopened northbound lanes about 1:35 p.m. and the southbound direction was cleared for traffic about 10 minutes later.

During the closure, motorists were urged to use alternate routes and big rigs were allowed to use Interstate 580.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The same fallen lines started a small brush fire in the area of East 9th Street and 36th Avenue that was quickly controlled.

Immediately after the lines fell, CHP officers told motorists who had wires across their vehicles to remain inside their cars until PG&E could shut off the power. A traffic Sig Alert was issued at 12:53 p.m. and power crews arrived just before 1:30 p.m.

Allan Samson, 36, a cargo driver and small-business owner, said he was driving his Dodge Ram Promaster cargo van northbound on I-880 when traffic suddenly just stopped. “I thought it was an accident,” he said.

“People were trying to maneuver around,” the downed wires, Samson said. “Then police came and shut it down.”