Crews were called to douse a vehicle fire on Lions Gate Bridge Saturday afternoon (Feb. 12), creating a traffic snarl for much of the North Shore well into the evening.
According to Const. Kevin Goodmurphy, West Vancouver Police Department spokesman, the driver of a Hyundai Tucson saw smoke coming from under the hood and she and her passenger bailed out just before 2:30 p.m.
Officers had the task of keeping drivers, pedestrians and cyclists well back while West Vancouver Fire and Rescue Members doused the flames.
Vancouver Police Department members closed access to the bridge at the south end while West Vancouver officers closed the north end.
The two women who were in the vehicle were fine; however, a tow truck driver suffered an injury to his hand thanks to a small explosion, Goodmurphy said.
Vehicle fires happen from time to time, Goodmurphy said, most often because of a mechanical issue in the engine. Thankfully, though, it’s not usually on a bridge. It took about an hour to safely reopen the span on Saturday.
Goodmurphy, who was on patrol that day, said traffic through West Vancouver was “just horrible” for much of the rest of the day.
“We did our best to get a lane open as quickly as we could,” he said. “I felt for the people that were having to sit in that. It was not a nice position to be in, for sure.”
Lions gate bridge #lionsgatebridge pic.twitter.com/HvlnqEUfWU
— DeepCoveDOG (@DeepCoveDog) February 12, 2022
