Malahat closes after commercial truck knocks down power poles

A downed power pole is seen on the Malahat on Thursday, July 9, in this image from the DriveBC website.

Mounties on Vancouver Island say a commercial truck is to blame for downed power lines and a brush fire that closed the Malahat in both directions Thursday.

In a statement, B.C. RCMP say a commercial truck driving with a crane extended snagged power lines, near South Shawnigan Lake Road around 3:40 p.m., which downed number of poles and wires across both lanes of the highway and the road.

“The incident sparked a small brush fire on the shoulder of the highway which was quickly contained by a civilian with a fire extinguisher,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alex Bérubé said, in the statement.

“The investigation determined a crane truck, traveling north on the highway, turning left onto Shawnigan Lake Road, had the crane extended which resulted in the truck snagging lines and pulling them down over both roads. A total of five hydro poles were broken/compromised.”

Police say two other commercial trucks got caught in the downed lines, but nobody was injured.

The Malahat and Shawnigan Lake Road were closed for several hours as a result.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.