A vehicle fire near the Malahat Summit on Nov. 15, 2018. (Mike Ryan).
Firefighters have extinguished a car fire north of the Malahat Summit, near the Split Rock Lookout, that shut down the Trans-Canada Highway for just under an hour.
Five firefighters from the Mill Bay Fire Department, who were providing mutual aid to Malahat fire crews, were called to Split Rock Lookout for the fire at around 1:15 p.m. RCMP were also on scene.
The fire was put out after five minutes. A Smart car was completely destroyed in the blaze.
Mill Bay Fire Chief Ron Beck said the driver, who was the lone occupant in the vehicle, was not injured.
A vehicle fire near the Malahat Summit on Nov. 15, 2018. (Mike Ryan).
As firefighters worked to clean up after the fire, the Trans-Canada Highway was closed in both directions one kilometre north of the Malahat Summit, between Whittaker and Mill Bay roads, due to the fire. The highway reopened just before 2:15 p.m. It had been closed at around 1:30 p.m.
#BCHwy1 is CLOSED both directions 1 km north of the #Malahat Summit due to a vehicle fire. Assessment in progress. Next Update: 2:30 PM Estimated to open at 3:00 PM
— DriveBC VI (@DriveBC_VI) November 15, 2018
UPDATE – #BCHwy1 is open to Northbound traffic 1 km north of the #Malahat Summit following vehicle fire. Southbound traffic remains closed. Clean-up in progress, next update at 3:00 PM #VanIsle
— DriveBC VI (@DriveBC_VI) November 15, 2018
UPDATE – OPEN – #BCHwy1 in both directions 1 km north of the #Malahat summit following a vehicle fire. The left lane remains blocked northbound. Clean-up continues, watch for crews and drive with caution #VanIsle
— DriveBC VI (@DriveBC_VI) November 15, 2018
A vehicle fire near the Malahat Summit on Nov. 15, 2018. (Sharon Taekema). [/captio
A vehicle fire near the Malahat Summit on Nov. 15, 2018. (James Wylde).
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