YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknifer had his long-weekend plans cut short Friday morning after the three-quarter-tonne Chevy he was driving went into the ditch and caught fire on the Ingraham Trail.

Firefighters prepare to hose down a burning pickup truck on the Ingraham Trail Friday morning after it crashed in the ditch. - Jason Unrau/NNSL photo

"It wasn't much of an accident, I hit the ditch, went off the road and it was on fire immediately," said the vehicle's owner who declined to give his name.

"This is embarrassing enough," he said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene about 10 a.m. after another motorist travelling on the Ingraham Trail notified the Yellowknife Fire Department. Assisted by a pumper-truck and accompanied by a fire department water truck, the fire crew quickly extinguished the blaze. More than a dozen vehicles were backed up along the highway.

"We were able to get here faster than the fire department," said Municipal Enforcement Officer Kerry Nicholson, who set up pylons to block access to the crash site.

As for the Chevy, less than a year old, it was a charred write-off. Fortunately nobody was injured.

"Well, my truck's gone and a really nice set of knives," said the driver, who was coming back into the city to pick up family members to join him in the bush for the long-weekend.