Delta, B.C., port terminals closed after 'machinery fire' Saturday morning

Fire closes Delta port  A large machinery fire temporarily shut down Delta port terminals on Saturday.

A large fire at the port in Delta, B.C., sent a plume of smoke into the sky Saturday morning.

Images posted on social media show smoke and flames visible from the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.

Global Container Terminals told CTV News the fire was not at its facility – which is known as GCT Deltaport – but at the Westshore Terminals facility next door.

Collectively, the two facilities are known as Roberts Bank.

In a statement to CTV News, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority confirmed that a "machinery fire" had been reported at Westshore Terminals, adding specifically that a "coal stacker" had caught fire.

"Delta fire responded to the incident immediately," the statement reads. "There are no reported injuries at this time."

The port authority added that the blaze had been "reported extinguished" by the terminal, and firefighters remained on scene to monitor the site.

"Both Westshore Terminals and GCT’s Deltaport have temporarily shut down operations," the port authority said.

"Westshore is continuing to manage the response with Delta fire."

The port authority said it could not say when the port would resume operations as of late Saturday morning.

The City of Delta said firefighters were dispatched to the fire at 8:30 a.m. and arrived to find the fire "limited to a conveyor belt."

"Crews were able to extinguish it and prevent spread to further equipment," the city said, adding that the blaze is not considered suspicious.

Jim Hargrove lives on Tsawwassen Beach Road and said his bedroom window faces the port. He said he noticed the smoke around 8 a.m., and was concerned about it blowing inland.

"It was a huge plume of smoke," he said.

Hargrove said there were two ships loading coal at the port Saturday morning, and the fire appeared to be burning just ashore from one of them, leading him to believe it was a coal fire that might take crews a long time to put out.

Delta police said they did not respond to the scene and referred questions to the Delta Fire Department.