Highway 1 reopens after fiery crash south of Yale, B.C.

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A fiery crash closed Highway 1 just south of Yale, B.C., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Jeff Koronko)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 south of Yale, B.C. on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. BC Highway Patrol says one driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries. (Jeff Koronko)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 south of Yale, B.C. on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. BC Highway Patrol says one driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries. (Jeff Koronko)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 south of Yale, B.C. on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. BC Highway Patrol says one driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries. (Jeff Koronko)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 south of Yale, B.C., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Kristi Walsh)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 south of Yale, B.C., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Kristi Walsh)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 south of Yale, B.C., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Kristi Walsh)

A fiery crash closed Highway 1 just south of Yale Friday morning.

B.C. Highway Patrol said Friday’s crash occurred just after 6 a.m. and involved “a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck” that “collided head-on.”

While the driver of the larger truck was uninjured, the driver of the pickup was taken to hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Images from the scene shared with CTV News show the semi truck and trailer on fire on one side of the road, while the mangled wreckage of the other vehicle rests on the other.

“We are making progress in this investigation, but we need more witnesses and dash camera video to get a complete picture of what happened,” said Cpl. Michael McLaughlin, in the BCHP release.

“It’s also critical that drivers are as patient as possible despite multiple highway closures in the area. We understand that major highway shutdowns cause major inconvenience, but we don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

Highway 5 – better known as the Coquihalla Highway – reopened at noon on Friday, though stopping was prohibited between Hope and Merritt. The route had been closed since Wednesday due to the Mine Creek wildfire, which is burning on both sides of the route.

• Read more: Coquihalla reopens, but no stopping allowed as Mine Creek wildfire forces evacuations

The BCHP said Highway 1 was expected to remain closed “for the balance of the day” Friday, but shortly before 1 p.m., DriveBC said the route had reopened to “single lane alternating traffic.”

“Expect delays as congestion eases,” the agency said.

Friday’s crash followed a similar incident on Thursday, which seriously injured an elderly driver near the Yale Road exit in Chilliwack. That collision closed the highway’s eastbound lanes for several hours.

Police asked anyone who witnessed Friday’s collision in Yale or has dash cam video to call BC Highway Patrol Chilliwack at 604-702-4039 and quote file number (1501) 25-38115.