Hwy 97 in northern B.C. reopens after closure due to road incident

A northern B.C. highway has reopened after being closed earlier Wednesday due to a road incident, six months after two deadly collisions on the route.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, RCMP said they closed Highway 97 in both directions and advised drivers to avoid the highway while officers investigated the scene.

Police said they received reports of an incident involving two cars at 1:22 p.m. PT Wednesday near Bear Lake, which is about 74 kilometres north of Prince George, but did not provide any information on the nature of the incident.

Police did not say whether there were any injuries. Cpl. Jennifer Cooper with the Prince George RCMP said the investigation would likely require an "extended period of time."

As of 6:15 p.m., Wednesday, DriveBC said that the highway had reopened.

2 deadly crashes on Hwy 97 last November

The highway was the site of two fatal car crashes almost six months ago. 

On Nov. 6, 2022, a fatal head-on collision occurred on Highway 97 near Groundbirch, 49 kilometres west of Dawson Creek, close to the Alberta border. 

One of the drivers died on the scene, while the other was sent to hospital with minor injuries. The highway was closed for almost seven hours afterwards.

A day later, another fatal collision happened on Highway 97 near Chetwynd — about 205 kilometres north of Prince George — where a pickup truck and a car collided, killing the car's two passengers, both women. The driver of the pickup truck appeared to be uninjured.

According to weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, northern B.C. experienced a few showers with a risk of thunderstorms on Wednesday afternoon.

RCMP did not say whether weather and road conditions were a factor in the incident on Wednesday.