Fires disrupting CN, CP in British Columbia, UP in California

Canadian National and Canadian Pacific main lines in British Columbia are once again both shut down because of wildfires.

Meanwhile, in California, Union Pacific is also experiencing additional fire-related disruptions.

Container shipper Hapag-Lloyd informed customers on Thursday that CN and CP have halted operations east of Lytton at the request of the B.C. Wildfire Service, with fires near their rail lines. Both railroads’ restrictions on intermodal traffic to and from the Port of Vancouver, while the port’s terminals are congested and operating at limited capacity.

Rail traffic through Lytton, on the east-west main lines for both railroads, has mostly been shut down since a fire destroyed most of the town of Lytton on June 28. CN had only opened reopened its mainline Tuesday evening, only to have it shut down again on Wednesday.

Union Pacific, which already has its route between California and the Pacific Northwest closed to replace a fire-damaged bridge near Weed, Calif., informed customers on Thursday that it had halted operations through the Feather River Canyon because of the Dixie Fire north of Oroville, Calif. As of late Thursday, a mandatory evacuation had been ordered for the area north and east of Paradise, Calif.; the rail line and adjacent U.S. Route 70 form the southwestern border of the evacuation area. That fire, which began Tuesday, had grown to 4,900 acres as of Thursday evening, KCRA-TV reports.

Union Pacific also said it was watching the Beckwourth Complex Fire in Plumas and Lassen counties, near the Nevada state line, which has burned more than 100,000 acres. The railroad had suffered some tie damage but was continuing to operate through the area.