At least one building was destroyed Friday afternoon as firefighters rushed to a large fire at the vacant Pioneer Square Center in Mill Bay, British Columbia.

Flames and thick smoke were seen from a nearby stretch of the highway before 1 p.m.

The highway was quickly closed to traffic as firefighters arranged trucks on the road at the intersection with Shawnigan Lake-Mill Bay Road.

The highway remained closed to traffic in both directions from 4 p.m.

Several fire departments responded to the site with multiple water trucks from another location. The Cowichan Valley School District said in a statement on its Twitter page that it is "monitoring the situation."

Officials in the area stated that students and their parents should expect bus delays due to rerouting.