Semi hauling hay bales catches fire south of Edmonton

A semi truck hauling a load of hay bales caught fire on Monday afternoon, leading to a highway closure in Leduc County.

Shortly before 4 p.m., RCMP said Highway 616 was closed between Highway 822 and Range Road 224.

It wasn’t known as of 5 p.m. how the load caught fire or if anyone was injured.

Video from the Global 1 news helicopter shortly before 5 p.m. showed a large area of scorched grass surrounding the truck. Emergency crews could be seen on scene.

The closure remained in place for several hours, but on Tuesday morning RCMP said the road was open again.

The area of Leduc County is located about 30 kilometres southeast of the City of Leduc.