Greyhound bus gutted by fire, closing Trans-Canada Highway for hours near Golden, B.C.

Fire gutted a Greyhound bus andclosed the Trans-Canada Highway for hours on Thursday morningbetween Golden and Field, B.C.

The bus was headed east fromRevelstoketowardCalgarywhen it caught fire around 6:40 a.m. MT, according to Greyhound spokeswomanAshley Sears.

Sears said the driver and all26 passengers were able to safely flee the vehicle, which was reduced to a charred husk by the blaze.

The travellers were taken to the Field Information Centre, and a relief bus was sent from Banff to pick them up.

Sears said fire crews were looking into the cause of the fire andGreyhound will launch its own investigation, too.

Greg Lexiphanicwas travelling west on the Trans-Canada and ended up stuck along with hundreds of other motorists, waiting for the highway to reopen.

"The queue was several kilometres long," he said. "We sat without moving for about 90 minutes."

The highway reopened shortly after noon, according to DriveBC.