Firefighters got the Windsor oil well site fire under control around 11 p.m. Friday but crews were still on site Saturday to finish putting out flames.
Several agencies and oil workers were tackling the fire, which sent a large plume into the sky around 8:45 p.m. Friday at the facility near Colorado 392 and Weld County Road 21, said Windsor Severance Fire Rescue Batallion Chief Todd Vess. People in the area felt and heard the blast.
“These are extremely rare fires,” Vess said. “We haven’t had one of these. I’ve been here 18 years and I can’t recall a well fire like this.”
One oil worker was injured and taken to the North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley.
“Regrettably, an individual working onsite was injured at the onset and was taken to a local hospital,” Extraction Oil & Gas spokesman Brian Cain told the Associated Press. “He is recovering in stable condition and our thoughts are with him for a speedy recovery.”
Vess said it’ll take some time to determine the cause of the fire. Last night, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office described the fire as an industrial accident.
The oil well is fairly isolated, he said. There is one house nearby that was evacuated Friday night.
Firefighters had to truck in gallons and gallons of water from Windsor, which is not uncommon in rural areas, Vess said. He didn’t have official numbers on the amount of water used but said water trucks ranging from those carrying 2,000 gallons to those carrying 6,000 gallons were constantly bringing water.
Crews made headway when aircraft rescue and firetrucks from the Loveland and Greeley airports arrived, allowing crews to dump foam on the fire.
Vess said eight to 10 different agencies were on scene with anywhere between 50 to 100 firefighters, which doesn’t include oil and gas workers.
At least a dozen explosions and fires have occurred along Colorado oil and gas industry pipelines in the eight months since two men were killed in Firestone when a home blew up.
