Photo: Courtenay Fire Dept.

A mother and her two pre-school children escaped safely from a burning car after it caught on fire on the Inland Island Highway Tuesday afternoon.

The southbound vehicle started vibrating and smoking about two kilometres north of the Mount Washington turn-off, said Courtenay Fire Chief Don Bardonnex.

The driver pulled over and all three occupants got out of the vehicle.

An RCMP officer who was also driving south used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the fire, without success. Firefighters extinguished it with a mix of water and foam.

Traffic was delayed while the fire department was on scene.

The vehicle was a total loss, Bardonnex said.