After being shuttered by a wildfire on Wednesday, the Coquihalla Highway is once-again open.

DriveBC says authorities are allowing traffic along the Merritt to Hope stretch once again (as of noon), after getting to the Lower Mainland earlier on the Friday got even more difficult.

A crash involving a pick-up and a tractor-trailer along the Trans Canada through the lower end of the Fraser Canyon near Yale sometime after 7am shut down that route in both directions.

The Coquihalla also remained closed through Friday morning due to the Mine Creek wildfire, which burned its way across the roadway late Wednesday afternoon, forcing its closure through that evening and through all of yesterday as well.

While the Coquihalla is now fully open, drivers can expect the drive to be potentially challenging as far as visibility is concerned due to smoke from the Mine Creek fire burning just north of the Summit. There is no stopping permitted between Merritt and Hope.

That fire is still listed at just over 1,900 hectares in size, which is what was mapped the previous day.

Mapping that fire has been challenging due to the amount of smoke it’s been ejecting.

The closure of the Trans Canada via the Fraser Canyon, as well as the Coquihalla, forced those who needed to get to the coast to take the Princeton-Hope Highway from Merritt to bypass the wildfire closure via Manning Park, which would add at least an extra hour to the drive.

Alternatively, drivers could also the Sea to Sky route through Lillooet, which would most likely add an extra couple of hours or more to the drive those hoping to get to Vancouver.

The Mine Creek Fire closed the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope. We detoured around on Highway 3. Outside Princeton heading towards Vancouver the fire turned day to night. At least 1900 hectares have now been lost. pic.twitter.com/utdJ3IH11P

— Dugg Steary (@DuggSteary) September 5, 2025