Two tourists from Germany are safe, but have lost their vehicle following a fire near the brake check on Highway 4 at Alberni Summit (the Hump), Sunday evening.
Numerous calls came in to 911 about the fire east of Port Alberni shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.
The young couple “said they were coming up the hill and (the vehicle) started smoking from underneath the hood,” said Capt. Jeff Findlay from the Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
The couple, headed east on Highway 4, pulled over to the side of the road and bystanders helped them pull their belongings from the vehicle before it fully caught on fire.
“They bought the car here and were travelling around,” Findlay said. “They seemed to get their stuff out of there, but the vehicle is a total writeoff,” he added.
Cherry Creek VFD sent two trucks, including their water tender, to the site and quickly extinguished the fire using both water and foam, due to magnesium ignited in the dashboard. This is normal, Findlay said.
“A lot of newer vehicles have magnesium or different kinds of metals in them.”
