Icy road conditions sent 12 tractor trailers into the ditch on Highway 16 west of Jasper on Jan. 12, and kept the road closed for hours.

A spate of warm weather followed by freezing temperatures overnight transformed the road into a skating rink that left the highway closed until noon. Those who did brave the treacherous conditions ran into major delays by Moose Lake. The 12 tractor trailers were involved in four separate incidents.

While no serious injuries were reported, eyewitness accounts report at least one tractor trailer caught fire following an accident on the highway. Several wrecked trailers were seen being towed from Mount Robson to Valemount, as tow trucks worked for hours to remove the wreckages from the road.

According to Valemount RCMP, trucks were jackknifed all over the road between Mount Robson and Moose Lake. All Valemount RCMP officers on duty responded to the accidents, and Jasper RCMP were also called in to assist due to the high number of accidents.

The road was opened to a single lane of traffic, and traffic continued to flow slowly for the rest of the day.

Highway 16 West was closed on the morning of Jan. 11 due to poor road conditions as well, however highway officials opened the road by 2 p.m. There was discussion to keep the highway closed in order to perform avalanche control work, however the highway remained opened.