Traffic between the North Shore and Downtown Vancouver came to a standstill twice on Wednesday when a tree in Stanley Park caught fire early in the morning and flared up again during the afternoon commute.
Along with regular drivers trying to travel home from work, thousands more were trying to get to GM Place for the Vancouver Canucks' first playoff game against the St. Louis Blues.
The causeway reopened around 5:20 p.m.
Fire Captain Gabe Roder said the dead tree -- a hollow cedar -- was enormous, over 500 years old and about 150 ft. high.
Although it was 200 ft. from the causeway and unlikely to fall onto the road itself, the fire department was worried it could knock another tree into traffic.
"We have tried everything we can possibly do to put out the fire while the tree is still standing," said Roder. "Our only course of action is to get the thing on the ground."
He said professional tree fallers cut the tree down.
According to the Vancouver Parks Board, the fire started around 1:30 a.m. The causeway through Vancouver's most popular park was closed until 7:30 a.m.
But it turned out the fire had not been fully contained and fire crews are still trying to put it out.
The causeway was once again closed around 4 p.m.
Investigators have ruled out lightning because the fire started from the bottom of the tree.
The Vancouver Fire Department said it's still too early to determine what caused the fire.
