The Trans-Canada Highway is still closed south of Ashcroft this morning after a crash killed two people last night, and led to a grassfire off the side of the road.

RCMP Traffic Services Cpl. Mike Halskov says the crash happened at 7:25 p.m. near Basque Road, about 18 kilometres south of Ashcroft.

“Police found a transport truck off the highway, completely engulfed in flames and nearby, a Honda civic with a lone occupant who showed no signs of life.”

The semi truck driver was also pronounced dead at the scene, after rolling off the highway.

As for what caused the crash, Halskov says the red Honda Civic was heading southbound when it crossed the centre line and hit the semi truck head-on.

He says the driver of that car was a woman who is believed to be from the United States. No further details of the semi truck driver’s identity have been provided yet, as Halskov says police are still working to confirm the identity of both victims.

Ashcroft Fire Department chief Josh White tells NL News that essentially the whole fleet was called to respond to the blaze.

“And it spread into the grasslands. We actively fought that fire to contain it so it wouldn’t spread to surrounding structures in the area… We definitely took on the bulk of the firefighting, managed to knock down the perimeter, and turned it over to Forestry [BC Wildfire Service] when they arrived on scene,” White says.

According to the wildfire service, the fire grew to 1.4 hectares in size.

White says there were some structures in fairly close proximity to the fire on the other side of Highway 1, but says at this point there is no longer a risk to those structures.

Meantime, Highway 1 is still closed between Spences Bridge and Cornwall Road near Ashcroft because of that fatal crash.

DriveBC now says another update is expected at 3 p.m.