Crews have used bulldozers to pull a derailed chemical tank car from the Cheakamus canyon north of Squamish on Friday afternoon.
It was one of nine tank cars that went off a bridge on Aug. 5, spilling more than 40,000 litres of toxic sodium hydroxide into the Cheakamus River.
Crews had packed the remaining 10,000 litres still in the tank with nitrogen and dry ice – to prevent further leaks during the recovery effort on Friday.
Ministry of Environment officials estimate the toxic spill killed as many as 90 per cent of the fish in the river, including three generations of steelhead.
And they say it could be a decade before fish stocks recover from the chemical spill.
Crew will work through the weekend until the middle of next week to ensure the site is completely cleaned up.
In an effort to rebuild fish stocks, the provincial government has banned fishing in the rivers below the derailment – the Cheakamus, Squamish and the Mamquam – until September.
There's still no word on what caused the derailment.
B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner has warned that charges will be laid if investigators find evidence of wrongdoing, with fines of up to $1 million.
* INTERVIEW: B.C. Almanac's Mark Forsythe speaks with CN spokesperson Graham Dallas and with B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner. Click to play