Image Credit: Global Okanagan (with permission)
July 03, 2014 - 10:20 AM
OSOYOOS – Two semis crashed on Highway 3 northwest of Osoyoos around 5 p.m. Wednesday sparking a grass fire that threatened a nearby home and sent one of the truck drivers to hospital.
A 46-year-old Kelowna man behind the wheel of the logging truck was taken to Kelowna General by air ambulance. He is seriously hurt but he should make it. No one else was injured.
RCMP say the fully loaded logging truck burst into flames on impact. The flames then spread to nearby grass, sparking a grass fire that spread to 9.6 ha before it was contained.
Osoyoos firefighters and a forestry crew worked at containing the fire and protecting a nearby shed and house. B.C. Wildfire Fire Information Officer Kayla Pepper says the homeowner used firesmart practices which helped crews protect both buildings.
"It came fairly close but luckily no structures were lost," Pepper says. "The homeowner kept the grass cut, cleaned up debris, used firesmart materials on the buildings."
Pepper says seven fire fighters, two air tankers and a helicopter unit were on hand yesterday evening to help contain the blaze while another five stayed overnight to monitor it. Today 20 firefighters were set to be on site to extinguish the blaze and continue mopping up.
Highway 3, about 9 km west of Osoyoos near Spotted Lake, was closed for several hours as crews fought the blaze and cleared the wreckage from the road. The highway is currently open to single lane alternating traffic. For update information on the highway go to Drive BC.
Investigators are looking for the cause of the crash. Police say alcohol is not a factor.
Image Credit: Twitter
To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, Marshall Jones, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
— This story was updated at 7:37 a.m., Thursday, July 3, 2014 to add the Highway 3 had re-opened.
— This story was updated at 10:15 a.m., Thursday, July 3, 2014 to add information from the RCMP.
— This story was updated at 11:39 a.m., Thursday, July 3, 2014 to add details from B.C. Wildfire.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014