LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A big rig hauling a load of cattle overturned on Highway 20 on Friday afternoon east of Clearlake Oaks, resulting in a multiagency animal rescue operation that lasted into the evening.

The California Highway Patrol first reported the crash at 12:26 p.m. near mile post marker 38 and Cache Creek, east of Clearlake Oaks.

Early reports from the scene said the truck had initially been blocking the highway.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Joel Skeen told Lake County News at the scene Friday evening that the big rig driver was traveling eastbound on Highway 20 pulling a double-decker livestock trailer with 79 head of cattle on board.

Skeen said it appeared that the driver took the turns in that stretch of highway too fast. As a result, the big rig and trailer — the latter of which was top-heavy — flipped over onto their side.

The driver was uninjured, Skeen said.

Skeen said the truck was traveling with its load of cattle from Fortuna en route to Tennessee.

He said some of the cows were killed in the crash, but most survived.

Firefighters used a saw to cut through the metal trailer and its compartments to free the animals.

By 5:30 p.m., about 30 to 40 of the cows had been removed from the trailer, Skeen said.

Lake County Animal Care and Control staff and firefighters used metal livestock corral panels to direct the cows into pickup-drawn trailers that took them from the scene.

In addition to the CHP and Animal Care and Control, agencies that were part of the rescue — which Skeen called “quite the operation” — included Cal Fire, Northshore Fire, Caltrans, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Fire and Lake County Environmental Health.

Skeen said at that time that it was expected to take another few hours to remove all of the animals before moving the damaged truck and trailer.

A veteran of the CHP, Skeen said the incident “is a new one for me.”

Shortly before 10 p.m., the CHP reported that both lanes of Highway 20 at the crash site were closed in order to remove the semi.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.