Canadian border checkpoint closed after explosives found in car
A major U.S./Canada border crossing was shut down Monday for about one hour and twenty minutes after Canadian inspectors reportedly discovered a small amount of explosives in a car entering the country from the United States.
The vehicle crossed the Peace Arch checkpoint in Blaine, Wash., and was headed to Surrey, British Columbia, when border guards discovered a small amount of explosives, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency told Northwest Cable News.
Mike Milne, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, confirmed that Canadian officials requested the closure of northbound lanes around 1 p.m. Pacific time, but declined to disclose the reason for the request. All lanes reopened about 2:20 p.m., he said. Calls to Canadian customs spokespersons were not returned by press time.
Blaine is the northern terminus for I-5. Traffic was diverted to the Pacific Highway crossing, where commercial truck lanes are located. Milne did not have any specific information on whether wait times for trucks were affected, but said, 'It's normally a busy port, so I assume it caused some delays.'
The Customs and Border Protection Web site listing wait times at each border crossing showed a 25-minute delay for trucks and a 50-minute delay for passenger vehicles at the Pacific Highway crossing at 2 p.m. Pacific time. Milne said those figures were fairly normal for trucks, but a bit high for cars, exacerbated in part by extra traffic for the holiday weekend.
By 3 p.m., delays had receded to 15 minutes and 20 minutes for trucks and cars, respectively.
There are a couple of other smaller ports that process commercial vehicles within 20 miles of the Blaine crossings, giving truckers another option if the congestion becomes a problem in one area.