CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific has taken the chairwoman of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to task for comments regarding the agency’s investigation of the possibility a train caused the fire which devastated the town of Lytton, British Columbia., on June 30.
In a Thursday report by the Canadian Press, Kathy Fox, chairwoman of the TSB, said a full report on the fire could take up to two years. An initial report reached no conclusion as to cause, but Fox told the news service the Lytton fire is “certainly a wake-up call to really look at what precautions need to be taken by railway companies, particularly when you’re operating in extreme temperatures and in areas that are already bone dry and can go up with not much ignition.”
CP responded with a Friday statement saying that, with the investigation in its early stages, “we believe it is irresponsible and misleading for the Chair of the TSB to imply that railways are to blame for the fire.”
The statement said that to the best of the railroad’s knowledge, the last train through Lytton before the fire was a CP train operation on Canadian National’s Ashcroft Subdivision. (The CP and CN mainline operate as paired trackage through the Thompson and Fraser River canyons, with westbound trains operating on CN and eastbound moves on CP.) CP said it has inspected that train and others, and reviewed records including video footage, and has “found nothing to indicate that any of CP’s trains or equipment that passed through Lytton caused or contributed to the fire.” It further said “a review of the key facts confirms that railways are not a significant cause of wildfires in B.C.”
CP and Canadian National are both operating under extensive fire-suppression orders from Transport Canada [see “Safety board to examine if train cause Lytton fire …,” Trains News Wire, July 12, 2021]. In its statement, CP outlined current moves to address fire concerns including deployment of two water trucks, two high-capacity hi-rail water trucks, a rail grinder with a 4,500-gallon water tank, and an additional hi-rail vehicle with a 250-gallon tank.
Kathy Fox is definitely NOT a politician.
Never let facts get in the way of a politician making a statement.
I would rather hear a politician blame the railroad than global warming. At least the railroad can provide evidence and facts to refute the claim.
I have to agree with CP on this one. They say they are in the early stages into the investigation and it could take up to two years but they seem to be hinting that the railroad caused the fire. They should keep there mouth shut till the investigation is done. Almost sounds like they know to blame.