A video posted on social media by Ontario MPP Sol Mamakwa shows CN Rail workers inside a train surrounded by flames. The union representing the workers says no one was hurt.X Sol Mamakwa/The Canadian Press
Canadian National Railway CNR-T has halted freight rail operations in areas hit by wildfires after a video was posted online showing a CN locomotive surrounded by flames in Northern Ontario.
The video shot from inside the train’s cab and posted to X late Tuesday shows the surrounding trees engulfed in flames as crew members react and communicate with other crews by radio.
“This could potentially overtake us here,” one unidentified train operator is heard saying. “This has gotten a little scary.”
The train is apparently stopped on a siding waiting for an oncoming train to pass by. “You all need to hurry up here. Seriously. We are encased in flames,” the man says.
“I can hear you. We’re notching up,” comes a reply on the radio, shortly before an oncoming train passes. “Oh, yeah, they’re clipping,” the operator of the stopped train says, letting out a whoop as it goes by in the smoke and flames.
This is near Armstrong, Ontario.
— Sol Mamakwa (@solmamakwa) July 14, 2026
When will the Canadian National Railway Company make a statement about this incident? pic.twitter.com/6bKJYugeR0
The video was shot near Armstrong, Ont., around Lake Nipigon. It was posted to social media by Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong.
CN spokesman Jonathan Abecassis said the company’s employees in the area have been evacuated and operations suspended.
“CN remains in close contact with the Ministry of Natural Resources and local authorities as the situation continues to evolve,” he said in an e-mail. “The safety of our employees, the community, and emergency responders remains our top priority.”
The union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), said no one was hurt.
“We commend the courage and professionalism of our members, who kept their composure in a terrifying situation,” said Paul Boucher, TCRC president, in a statement on Wednesday.
A satellite image of wildfires spreading through northern Minnesota and Ontario.CSU/CIRA & NOAA/Reuters
“But make no mistake, this incident should never have happened. CN should never have sent a train down those lines. The company knows exactly how bad the situation is in that region. That fire has been raging for five weeks.”
Several communities in Northern Ontario have been evacuated as a number of wildfires burned on Wednesday and smoke choked the air in the southern part of the province.
Operations at Canada’s other major railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, are unaffected by the fires in Ontario and Western Canada, said spokesman Patrick Waldron.
IQAir ranked Toronto’s air quality the world’s second-worst, labelling it “unhealthy.”
“Our members should never have to drive through a wall of flames to move freight,” said François Laporte, president of Teamsters Canada.
“Railway workers keep this country’s economy moving, but no shipment is worth a human life. CN owes its workers, and the communities along those lines, answers.”