The driver of a truck containing 35,000 litres of jet fuel drove around a metal barricade warning of a road closure before his tanker tumbled into a creek in B.C.’s West Kootenay region.
Maps and pictures supplied by the Ministry of Transportation show the driver took the truck about another 700 metres down the remote logging road before the road gave way, emptying the fuel into Lemon Creek.
Pictures from the ministry indicate the tanker driver would have driven past at least two signs that warned the road was closed.
The tanker was carrying fuel for helicopters fighting a wildfire in the area.
The noxious fumes forced almost 1,300 people to flee after the spill on Friday.
Homes and farms in the area are still without water as the Regional District of Central Kootenay continues to test the water for fuel contamination.
Environment Minister Mary Polak says there will be an investigation into what happened to determine if anything could be done to prevent a similar disaster.
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