Okanagan Connector near Merritt closed after fire with 'volatile substance'

VANCOUVER -- The Okanagan Connector – or Highway 97C – faced closures in all directions Tuesday after a commercial vehicle carrying a "volatile substance" caught fire, prompting a police investigation.

Mounties say they got reports of a commercial truck fire at about 1 a.m. along Highway 97C, east of the Highway 5A Aspen Grove junction. When they arrived on scene, they found the contents of the truck were "extremely volatile," which led to road closures so crews could assess the fire. 

• Plan your route using our traffic page

Just before 11 a.m., DriveBC posted on Twitter that single lane traffic was open in the area.

OPEN - #BCHwy97C at #AspenGrove to single lane traffic after earlier vehicle incident, drive carefully and expect delays. #Kelowna

— Drive BC (@DriveBC) December 31, 2019

"Motorists are urged to monitor Drive BC for the latest information on the closure, and are asked to plan their travels to and from the Lower Mainland accordingly," said Staff Sgt. Lorne Wood, Merritt RCMP detachment commander. 

It's not known if there were any injuries related to the fire and Transport Canada has been notified of the incident.

Mounties are asking anyone with information about the incident to call Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262.