Emergency crews were kept busy in Banff National Park last weekend when a transport truck caught fire and another ran off the road and landed beneath a wildlife underpass.
There were no injuries in either case.
RCMP say a Home Depot transport truck caught fire just before midnight on Saturday (Sept. 9) in the westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway, east of Lake Louise.
Sgt. Gerald Walker of Lake Louise RCMP said the fire was caused by a mechanical or electrical malfunction.
“There was a malfunction and it caught on fire,” he said. “The driver heard some weird stuff, pulled over and saw smoke coming out.”
Lake Louise fire department was on scene quickly, calling Banff fire crews for backup.
Keri Martens, Lake Louise fire chief, said the truck essentially burned to the ground, noting it was carrying metal shelving, flooring, tiles and garden mulch, among other materials.
“It was a dense load and we got the Banff fire department to come out and help,” she said. “Even with that, and several trips back and forth to Lake Louise, it still took several hours to get that out.”
Earlier that day, emergency crews were called to a semi car carrier wreck on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Castle Mountain at about 10:30 a.m. The accident happened hours earlier, though.
The call came in after Parks Canada visitor safety specialists spotted the accident from a helicopter while on their way to a rescue on Mount Victoria.
“They called it in and that’s how we all got notified. You couldn’t see it from the highway at all,” said Martens.
The car carrier, which was loaded with several pickups and cars, ran off the westbound lanes through a berm and wildlife fence, before landing beneath a wildlife underpass.
Police said vehicles were piled everywhere there. The driver was checked out by EMS and released on scene.
“Shockingly, there were no injuries. He’s definitely lucky,” said Sgt. Walker. “The vehicle was a write-off though.”
RCMP continues to investigate.
“I can say it’s definitely a driver error,” said Walker.
Cleanup of the car carrier and vehicles was done Monday (Sept. 11).
