British Columbia·NewCleanup is still underway east of Cranbrook, B.C., after a train derailment caused a propane leak and forced the evacuation of some rural properties along the Kootenay River this weekend.Rail company says about 12 cars carrying wood products and propane were involvedCBC News · Posted: Nov 30, 2025 9:24 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Cleanup work is underway after 12 rail cars of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City train derailed about 16 kilometres east of Cranbrook, B.C. (Corey Bullock/CBC)Cleanup is still underway east of Cranbrook, B.C., after a train derailment caused a propane leak and forced some rural properties along the Kootenay River to be evacuated this weekend.In an update Sunday, company spokesperson Patrick Waldron said repairs to the track were completed early Sunday morning and the corridor has since reopened to rail traffic following safety inspections. Crews continue to remove derailed cars from the site, he said.The rail company said on Saturday that the derailment occurred in a remote area about 16 kilometres east of Cranbrook in southern B.C., and a preliminary assessment showed about 12 cars were involved, including some carrying wood products and three tanker cars carrying propane. Derailed rail cars sit overturned along the banks of the Kootenay River east of Cranbrook, B.C., after a weekend incident that caused a propane leak and briefly forced nearby residents to evacuate. (Submitted)The Regional District of East Kootenay issued an evacuation order for five nearby properties and declared a state of local emergency, but lifted both on Saturday evening after officials said an assessment showed no remaining risk to the public.The Ministry of Environment and Parks said most rail cars involved in the incident contain non-dangerous goods, and it noted that lumber from one broken rail car fell into the Kootenay River. One propane tank car, located on land, was reported to be leaking, it added. Propane is generally stored under pressure in tanks as a colourless, odorless liquid. When released, it naturally vaporizes and turns into a highly flammable gas — making propane leaks dangerous. Although propane is odourless, another gas that smells like rotten eggs is often added to make a propane leak more detectable.CPKC said crews were able to safely reposition the propane tanker cars near the tracks on Sunday to prepare for offloading in the coming days, including the tanker that had leaked propane on Saturday. One of those ordered out was Jamie Jones, owner of a nearly 400-hectare cattle farm on the banks of the Kootenay River near Wardner.“There was a fellow waving us down and we walked out to talk to him and he said we needed to get away, as far as we could. There was a propane leak,” Jones said.Jones, who keeps about 750 cattle, said she had been feeding her animals when responders told her family they needed to leave the property. They were allowed a short amount of time to finish tending to the herd before evacuating.She said the railway offered temporary accommodations and meal coverage if needed, but her family opted to wait it out in their vehicle, get some food and monitor updates. By Saturday evening, they were told they could return.“We could still smell the propane,” she said.Jones, who has lived on the ranch for more than 20 years, said she can’t recall a derailment this close to the property, but being near the tracks means her cattle’s safety is always on her mind.“There’s lots of grass along the tracks because it never gets grazed, so in the wintertime, yeah, a lot of animals get killed and it’s mostly elk.”Cattle graze in a snowy field near Wardner, B.C., with a train passing in the background. Five nearby properties were evacuated Saturday after a derailment caused a propane leak. (Amber Wang/CBC)The regional district urged Residents and travellers on Fenwick Road be cautious of the railway’s equipment and vehicles as the clean-up continues.The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed two investigators to the site and says the cause of the derailment is under investigation. With files from Amber Wang, Shaurya Kshatri and The Canadian Press
Cleanup continues after train derailment and propane leak east of Cranbrook, B.C.
