The Vancouver Fire Department has confirmed that this afternoon’s fire on the Marpole Railroad Bridge was intentionally set.
The swing span bridge is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and links to the Arbutus Corridor railway, which could be reactivated and has been a topic of major controversy.
Smoke from the blaze created a large column of smoke that blew eastward towards the Oak Street Bridge, causing poor visibility which led to a complete shutdown of the bridge for a period during the evening rush hour.
However, even with the smoke’s close proximity to Vancouver International Airport’s North Runway flight path, no flights were delayed.
The fire was extinguished by more than three dozen firefighters and a fire boat. No one was injured in the blaze.
Officials are currently examining the extent of the damage done to both the 1902-built bridge and two adjacent small buildings.
UPDATE: Smoke from massive fire limiting driver visibility on Oak Street Bridge http://t.co/h1rlb2V4Wl pic.twitter.com/bUmOpgaOIj
— CTV Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) July 10, 2014
@CTVVancouver massive fire on oak street bridge view from David Lam Park #vancouver pic.twitter.com/XWd9tpOMhF
— Kai Z (@Kai_ZA) July 10, 2014
@CTVNews The last of the fire that was burning under the Oak Street bridge pic.twitter.com/TwnkGXJRYI
— Jay McKinnon (@wjmckinnon) July 10, 2014
#Vancouver fire crews battle a fire on a train bridge on the Fraser River just west of the Oak Street Bridge. pic.twitter.com/fHZDVZiMKW
— Ric Ernst (@RicErnst) July 10, 2014
Huge fire closes Vancouver’s Oak Street bridge http://t.co/xq7FKnGpXS pic.twitter.com/zfNV6KbgaZ
— CBC News (@CBCNews) July 10, 2014
Oak Street Bridge closed. Shot from motorist just before it was shut down. Major fire on rail bridge. @CTVVancouver pic.twitter.com/ZPBZLKHB2y
— Mike Killeen (@Mike_Killeen) July 10, 2014
Wow! Huge fire underneath the Oak Street Bridge (Via: @ForSaleByMum) pic.twitter.com/quu935xJp1
— Adam Forsythe (@adamforsythe) July 9, 2014
@news1130traffic fire under Oak Street bridge pic.twitter.com/xL8OjA278c
— C (@elcurto99) July 9, 2014
Featured Image: @elcurto99 via Twitter