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The City of Saskatoon says the University Bridge is expected to remain closed to traffic for most of the day on Monday after a fire broke out underneath it on Sunday night.
According to the city, the fire at what appeared to be an encampment started just before 10 p.m. at Spadina Crescent and 25th Street East.
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The Saskatoon Fire Department said smoke and flames were visible under the bridge when firefighters arrived, and an update issued just after midnight confirmed the fire had been extinguished with no injuries reported.
Video submitted by the Saskatoon Fire Department shows the efforts to extinguish the "difficult-to-reach fire": pic.twitter.com/oO3H6mqjgp
— 650 CKOM (@CKOMNews) January 20, 2025
“Crews extended a hose line to apply water to the difficult-to-reach fire,” the fire department said in a statement.
“Extreme cold and the location of the fire made it difficult for fire crews to extinguish.”
The city said its engineers inspected the span throughout the night, and found no structural concerns, but the inspection revealed that the blaze melted a sanitary sewer line, leaving sewage leaking onto the riverbank.
The city said Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency has been notified, and workers are setting up a bypass for the line and doing modelling to ensure there is enough capacity so residents don’t experience sewer backups.
Drivers are being asked re-route their commutes, and there is no timeline for when it will re-open to traffic.
“Saskatoon Transit will be affected by these detours,” the city noted.
Pedestrians looking to cross the bridge from the south side will still be able to do so.
This is not the first time there has been a fire under the bridge. In October, firefighters responded to a blaze at an encampment under the bridge.
In that case, one person was charged arrested and charged with mischief under $5,000.