Pipeline explosion updates from Bellingham, WA

Pipeline

Our disaster saved others, mourners told

BELLINGHAM - The pipeline disaster that cut short three young lives here 10 years ago helped make communities across the country safer.

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Archive by category ''Pipeline

PIPELINE

Tour: A better Whatcom Creek emerges from disaster

BELLINGHAM - About 75 people gathered Wednesday, June 10, to walk the three miles of Whatcom Creek that had been burned and poisoned by hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline on the same date 10 years ago after the rupture of the Olympic Pipe Line.

1080 days ago
PIPELINE

Lesson learned: Emergency communication system crashed in '99 pipeline disaster

The first Bellingham Fire Department engine arrived at Whatcom Falls Park on June 10, 1999, to find a haze of gas vapors hovering 8 feet above cars driving by on Woburn Street.

1082 days ago
PIPELINE

Whatcom, Hannah creeks heal with a lot of help after pipeline explosion

BELLINGHAM - On a Sunday night three days after the June 10, 1999 pipeline explosion, state Department of Ecology employee Richard Grout grabbed boots and sneaked out to see the blast zone firsthand, before government officials could block off the site.

1082 days ago
PIPELINE

'Bellingham lost its sense of innocence' in pipeline disaster

Mike Leigh retired in 1998 after 25 years with the Bellingham Fire Department, but he "unretired" to become fire chief a year later.

1082 days ago
PIPELINE

What happened to key players in pipeline disaster?

A look back at key companies surrounding the Olympic pipeline explosion and where they are today:

1082 days ago
PIPELINE MEMORIES

Pipeline memories: Firefighter recalls how fire quickly went from bad to worse

Fred Wefer is assistant chief of the South Whatcom Fire District. He worked with the Whatcom County Hazardous Materials Unit on June 10, 1999, when a pipeline ruptured and exploded in Bellingham's Whatcom Falls Park.

1082 days ago
PIPELINE MEMORIES

Pipeline memories: Family friend remembers Liam Wood's passion for fishing

Liam Wood first came to our house in early spring of 1994. For weeks our son, Evan, had talked about a boy in his class who tied flies and liked to fish. Evan was in eighth grade at Fairhaven Middle School. We lived near Lake Padden, swam and fished there during the summer, walked and explored...

1082 days ago
PIPELINE MEMORIES

Pipeline memories: City Councilman filled in for mayor when pipeline blew

When a gas pipelied ruptured and expoloded on June 10, 1999, Pat Rowe was a Bellingham City Council member and mayor pro-tem. Rowe is co-owner with his son, James, of One Stop Movie Rental Kiosks.

1082 days ago
PIPELINE MEMORIES

Pipeline memories: In wake of explosion, crews worked hard to save Bellingham's water supply

One of the less well known stories of how greater disaster was averted during the initial hours after the explosion concerns how two savvy managers averted a major water outage for a lot of the city.

1082 days ago
PIPELINE

Fly-fishing school honors spirit of pipeline victim

BELLINGHAM - Ten years after his death, Liam Wood's spirit lives on in the school created to honor his passion for fly-fishing and his deep love of the natural world.

1083 days ago