Police re-routed traffic on Highway 63 after a tanker truck burst into flames near Boyle, Alberta. No one was hurt in the blaze. (Dan Duplessis/Special to QMI Agency)

EDMONTON - Alberta drivers on Hwy. 63 were greeted with a rolling fireball Wednesday as a tanker truck loaded with thousands of litres of diesel burst into flames while driving.

"The whole tanker basically burned into the pavement," said Sgt. Rob Cunningham of the Boyle RCMP, describing the aftermath.

No one was injured.

Police took multiple calls from drivers about a truck on fire at about 8 a.m.

The driver had spotted the flames, too, said Cunningham. It would have been easy - the entire back of the two-tank tractor trailer train was ablaze, and chunks of tire were flying.

Cunningham said a tire or brake problem caused one of the rig's rear tires to disintegrate.

Friction from the blowout started the flames.

The driver tried running for an extinguisher after pulling over but was too late.

"He wasn't in a position to extinguish the fire. It had gotten too big," said Cunningham.

The driver told firefighters and cops on scene that he was carrying 50,000 litres of diesel.

The highway was shut down and police cleared a circle around the rig, Cunningham said.

"(Firefighters) knew there was a risk of possible explosion," he said.

Photos show a massive column of black smoke rising from flames licking dozens of feet into the air.

It took eight hours for the fire to burn itself out.

The patch of highway under the truck was melted, and had to be repaired before the road was re-opened.

Hazmat teams also had to clean leaked diesel out of a nearby ditch.

The highway was re-opened at 8 p.m.