By Canadian Press

Fiery train derailment in Saskatchewan, residents evacuated from area

Feb 6, 2020 | 10:02 AM

GUERNSEY, Sask. — A freight train derailed in rural Saskatchewan on Thursday morning and residents were being evacuated from the area.

The train jumped the tracks about 6:15 a.m. near Guernsey, roughly 115 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, Canadian Pacific said.

Patty Prentice was driving to work just after the derailment and, in the pre-dawn darkness, initially thought she was coming across a small fire.

“The flames just got bigger and bigger and I could feel the heat when I drove by,” Prentice said.

There was no immediate word of injuries.

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Jack Gibney, the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Usborne which encompasses Guernsey, said about 85 residents were being evacuated from the community.

Prentice said she called relatives who also live in the area and heard they were told to get out.

“They knocked on doors, told them … to meet at the community centre if they wanted to know more information,” she said.

The local stretch of Highway 16, a major route, was closed in both directions.

About 19 cars of a CP train derailed in the same area in December, causing a major blaze and leaking 1.5-million litres of oil.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.

The Canadian Press