All lanes on Interstate 15 in Lake Elsinore were open by 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, the morning after a gasoline tanker caught fire, California Highway Patrol officials confirmed.

The fire, which sparked shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, caused massive gridlock for afternoon and evening commuters. The gridlock extended roughly 15 miles to Highway 91 in Corona, causing ripple effects and traffic chaos on many Inland freeways including the 10, 60, 91 and 215.

The tanker fire caused damage to the right shoulder, the slow lane and the middle lane on the southbound side, according to a preliminary assessment. So only the fast lane was open to traffic until about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. At that time, the rest of the road was reopened, and soon after, traffic was flowing smoothly, according to a Caltrans traffic map.

The southbound shoulder south of Lake Street where the fire started remained closed Wednesday morning for road work crews, Caltrans officials said via Twitter. Drivers are asked to be “work zone alert.”

The trouble began Tuesday afternoon when a tire ruptured on the big-rig tanker, prompting driver Jorge Siordia to pull onto the shoulder of the southbound lanes south of Lake Street, said California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Monks.

The truck belonged to Wholesale Distribution Inc., an Oregon company, Monks said. The company will be paying for the efforts of the hazmat and fire crews that responded the fire.

A fire started beneath the truck and soon spread to the trailer’s cargo tanks, which contained 8,700 gallons of 87-octane fuel, the trucker told investigators.

No one was hurt. But the blaze soon shut down the freeway in both directions. The northbound lanes stayed shut for only about an hour.

The fire created a massive cloud of thick black smoke that affected visibility for motorists and could be seen from Corona. Intense heat could be felt from the opposite shoulder six lanes and a median away from the fire.

Throughout the incident, authorities advised people to avoid the area because of the heavy smoke and toxic fumes.

More than 40 firefighters responded, along with a Hazmat team. Some fuel was reported to have spilled into the dirt.

Firefighters’ strategy was to let the fire burn itself out.

By 3:30 p.m., a crew from March Air Reserve Base was standing by to cover the truck with fire-smothering foam as soon as the flames abated, paving the way for cleanup crews to do their work, said Kasinga.

The flames were quenched about 4 p.m.

Off the freeway, on a desolate portion of Lake Street, commuters waited for traffic to start moving again.

Among them was Dalia Mendoza of Corona. Mendoza was traveling to Pechanga Resort & Casino to celebrate the sale of her house. She left around 1 p.m. and was stuck on the freeway for about two hours, she said.

“I should have been down at the casino, gambling and having fun,” she said, laughing. “When I get over there I’m going to say, ‘hey, whose idea was this anyway.'”