KELLYS MOUNTAIN - A tractor-trailer carrying contaminated soil caught fire Wednesday on Highway 105 atop Kellys Mountain.

The tractor-trailer had just gotten off the Marine Atlantic ferry in North Sydney and was on its way to Quebec with a load of PCB-laden soil from Stephenville, Nfld.

A spokeswoman for RCMP in Baddeck said the truck's engine began smoking and the driver managed to pull off at a look-off on the Seal Island side of Kellys Mountain.

The spokeswoman said that Baddeck RCMP, Cape Breton Regional Police and the Brad d'Or and Baddeck fire departments responded to the scene.

The tractor was almost completely incinerated but the trailer and its toxic load weren't significantly damaged.

Regional police's hazardous materials unit responded, but no soil was released from the trailer.

The tractor and trailer were towed from the scene separately.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

Traffic was only stopped at the site for about 15 minutes.