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By paNOW staff

second time in two months

Another train derailment near Saskatchewan village

Feb 6, 2020 | 9:21 AM

A train has derailed near Guernsey, Saskatchewan the second time in less than two months that a train has derailed in the area.

Phillipe Gaudet from Humboldt used a drone to capture footage of the train wreck that appears to show roughly a dozen train cars on its side with flames and a large plume of black smoke billowing into the air.

Regional Municipality of Usborne Reeve Jack Gibney, which governs the former village, confirmed a mandatory evacuation was underway, as emergency crews advised the hamlet’s 88 residents to vacate due to concerns over smoke in the area.

“Smoke right now is starting to come over top of the village of Guernsey, so we’ve started voluntary evacuations (and) set up a muster point at the town hall in Lanigan and then we’ll play it by ear from there,” Gibney said shortly before 9:30 a.m.

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Evacuation efforts are going smoothly, according to Gibney. Many residents volunteered to make the short move to Lanigan while four people with limited mobility were transported by ambulance.

Mark Pratchler was driving west from Lanigan to Saskatoon on Highway 16 when he first saw the smoke.

“I saw a glow and then I saw some red flashing lights. As I got closer I could see a really big flame. On the detour (north of Highway 16) I could see a thick, black plume of smoke,” he said.

Pratchler said he was detoured north of the derailment site; he said Guernsey’s volunteer fire crew members were the ones on scene diverting traffic.

Gibney is concerned with the derailment’s proximity to Guernsey less than two months after a train derailment caused similar problems for residents.

“It is closer. We were breathing easy when it happened west of Guernsey the last time. We’re lucky it’s not in town, at least it’s outside of town a quarter mile (roughly half a kilometre) — but it’s still close enough,” Gibney said.

CP Rail confirmed the derailment in an emailed statement just before 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

“At approximately 6:15 a.m. local time a CP freight train derailed east of the community of Guernsey, Sask. Emergency responders have been deployed to the site. CP is making initial assessments of the incident and will have further comment when available,” the statement said.

Jerome Fisher lives in the area of the derailment. He gave an account of what it was like.

“At about 6:15 a.m. I heard brakes on the train squealing, and all of a sudden they came to an abrupt stop. I looked around my yard, and I could see a really big orange glow in the air,” he said. “It’s just another sad day, because it’s a large train wreck.”

“I had thought of going that direction (along Highway 16) with a set of super Bs (semi trailers) that I drive, and if I had gotten close to the tracks and this had happened, that would not have been good.”

In a media release, the Humboldt RCMP detachment said the derailment happened east of Guernsey, forcing the closure of Highway 16 and “the junction with Highway 20 will also be closed.”

(paNOW with file from CKOM, photos from northeastNOW)