Evacuation lifted, 'soft closure' in place after train derails near Warroad

WARROAD — Forty-two cars on a Canadian National Railway train derailed north of Warroad on Saturday, March 28.

The Roseau County Sheriff's Office stated in a news release that the incident happened just before 5 a.m., with Canadian National Railway and other mutual aid partners responding.

Cleanup was expected to take between two and three days, including righting the tipped-over cars with heavy machinery and monitoring for hazardous materials.

Two of the cars were classified as "dangerous goods cars."

The evacuation zone was initially between 400th Street to County Road 137 along Highway 313.

As of Sunday afternoon, the precautionary evacuation was lifted, and residents in the zone were permitted to return home.

The incident, according to the Roseau County Sheriff's Office, is "under control with no current threat to the public."

Highway 313 remains in a soft closure, with the public encouraged to avoid the area to limit traffic.

Canadian National Railway officials and state hazardous materials teams from International Falls and Grand Rapids are also on the scene to monitor the situation.