Semi transporting paint catches fire on Trans-Canada
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A section of the Trans-Canada Highway was temporarily closed Monday after a tractor-trailer carrying a load of paint caught fire, creating a massive plume of acrid black smoke near Portage la Prairie.
“You could see it from a really long way away. It was obvious something was on fire, and you could tell it was something industrial,” said Michelle Budiwski, who was travelling eastbound on Highway 1 from Brandon to Winnipeg when she came upon the blaze.
“It just looked horrendous.”
A semi-trailer carrying cans of paint caught fire on the Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie Monday. (Michelle Budiwski photo)
Mounties responded to reports of the burning semi-truck on the highway, near Road 46 West, around 3:45 p.m., RCMP spokesperson Kevin Engstrom said.
Police confirmed no one was injured, and said the vehicle was carrying two trailers with cans of paint inside.
RCMP did not say what is believed to have caused the fire. The Portage la Prairie Fire Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Budiwski said she saw a long trail of traffic stopped in the westbound lanes, with some motorists turning off onto side roads in search of a detour.
Photos she took from inside her car show the front end of the tractor-trailer engulfed in flames and spewing thick black smoke.
“It was not a normal fire,” she said. “I was really concerned that it was all going to go up.”
Manitoba Highways said it closed the westbound lanes on Highway 1, from Road 43 West to Road 47 West, due to the incident. It issued a notice around 6 a.m. to report that the highway had reopened.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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