Massive vehicle fire stalls traffic on BC highway for several hours (VIDEO)
As a vehicle burned on a popular BC highway, drivers were stuck in traffic for hours on Friday night.
Eastbound lanes of BC Highway 97C were closed on Friday, August 19, according to Drive BC, due to a “major vehicle fire.”
We recognize many people experienced lengthy delays as a result of a vehicle fire on Highway 97C eastbound near West Kelowna on Friday evening.
At around 5:45 pm, a “truck hauling lumber caught fire in the eastbound slow lane of Highway 97C near Brenda Mine Lake Road,” according to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“Vehicle fires are dangerous to extinguish and in this case the safest option available was to let the vehicle burn in place.” The fire kept going until around 12:45 am, when traffic was able to flow again.
“Unfortunately, no detour was available for eastbound travellers as the lanes were physically blocked.”
Photographer Ben Glassco shared his experience sitting in traffic about 10 kilometres west of Kelowna for several hours on social media, and the video already has more than 24,000 views on TikTok.
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“Been waiting for hours on this highway,” Glassco said, revealing a long line of traffic on the highway leading up to what looks like a massive truck fire.
“It’s huge, and the tires are exploding.”
At 12:45 am, Glassco was finally able to make it through the road after waiting seven and a half hours. He shows a look at what’s left of the vehicle as he heads on his way.
On Twitter, drivers sounded off on how the whole situation was handled, criticizing how traffic was managed during the incident.
CORRECTIONšŗDue to a challenging and dangerous vehicle recovery caused by a major vehicle fire, #BCHwy97C remains closed eastbound approx. 10 km WEST of #Kelowna. Please use an alternate route and avoid the area. Crews are working to ensure the highway can safely reopen. #Merritt
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) August 20, 2022
“People just got out of their cars and started walking their dogs and lurking instead of actually making safe choices,” wrote one Twitter user. “Should have had RCMP deployed to turn people back.”
“There is absolutely no traffic on the other side. You can divert the traffic there and use single lane to cross the incident scene,” wrote another.
The damaged section of the road is being repaved this week, and until the repair is completed, the eastbound slow lane is still closed. Drivers can follow updates on Drive BC.
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