Highway 97A between Vernon and Armstrong was closed for about an hour Tuesday morning as crews responded to a fully involved pickup truck fire.
The blaze took place on the overpass at Otter Lake Cross Road. Firefighters were called around 10:15 a.m. June 13, said Armstrong-Spallumcheen Fire Chief Ian Cummings.
According to Cummings, the driver heading north was flagged down by another motorist after the fire sparked underneath the rear of the vehicle.
Video captured by a bystander at the scene shows thick black smoke billowing into the air, while flames engulf the pickup truck in front of halted traffic.
The Armstrong-Spallumcheen Fire Department responded with four apparatus and 13 firefighters.
“We arrived to a fully involved pickup truck and we extinguished it quickly,” Cummings said, adding the fire did not spread beyond the truck.
Highway 97A was closed in both directions as a safety precaution. The closure lasted about an hour, and a detour was in effect which meant that traffic “wasn’t impacted too bad,” Cummings said.
The truck was destroyed, but its driver — the lone occupant — was uninjured.
The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP responded to the scene, and media relations officer Const. Chris Terleski said the fire is believed to have been caused by a mechanical issue.
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