The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is continuing its response at a train derailment that happened early Monday morning on Highway 16 near Guernsey.

A train hauling crude oil went off the tracks and caught fire.

In an email late Monday afternoon, the SPSA said there is no threat to public safety and response teams are still working to get the fire out. There were no injuries reported.

The agency said crews expect to have the fire extinguished within eight to 10 hours, and that the smoke plume will then subside.

The Ministry of Highways is still monitoring the area and the RCMP is telling drivers to avoid Highway 16 east of Saskatoon as a portion of it is closed.

CP Rail said the derailment happened west of Guernsey around midnight.

“CP emergency response and HazMat crews have been deployed to the scene and will work closely with local first responders to assess and minimize impact to the surrounding area,” the rail company said in a news release.

CP said crews are making initial assessments of the situation, including the number of cars involved. Initial reports are there is no impact on any local waterways.

Due to the heavy smoke, the RCMP closed Highway 16 near the crash site. Traffic is being rerouted through Watrous.

Video posted to Facebook of the derailment showed flames and billowing smoke across a side road near Highway 16. In the video, a person is heard saying “this is the end of our driveway.”

Train carrying oil, derailed outside of guernsey. Video credit : Jennifer Fleischhacker Posted by Jessica Kragh on Monday, December 9, 2019

‘My cab filled with smoke’

Semi driver Ken Popadynec came across the derailment around 1:30 a.m. along Highway 16.

He told the Brent Loucks Morning Show that he saw flames as he was driving east along the highway, when all of a sudden his truck was enveloped by thick, black smoke.

“My cab filled up with smoke. My skin, everything just turned black from the smoke,” Popadynec said. “It scared the hell out of me.”

He said he stopped in the middle of the road, because he couldn’t even see his headlights. He wasn’t able to move until firefighters arrived to guide him down the middle of the highway with the help of flashlights.

Popadynec said after getting through the smoke, he is still trying to clean his skin and hair.

“I stopped in Dafoe to have a shower, and now I’m going to go to Roblin, Manitoba to have another,” he said. “My hair looks like a bad dye job.”

The release from the SPSA on Monday afternoon said one home near the site had been evacuated, but CP indicated that no evacuations were ordered.

As of Monday afternoon, CP had not responded to individual media requests.