File:Natural Gas Wells One Of The Values At Risk On The Pine Gulch Fire 01.jpg
There are eight natural gas wells in the vicinity of the Pine Gulch Fire and two of those were producing gas when the fire started. On Sunday, August 2, the two producing wells’ operators ‘shut in” the wells, meaning no gas was being released or essentially that they were shut off.
Firefighters were able to remove vegetation from around the wells to prevent significant damage to the infrastructure at these sites prior to fire coming near the well sites. The fire has now burned around at least three of the gas wells with no harm being done to them. Officials do not anticipate fire activity having any affect on future use of these gas wells and fire managers are working closely with all of the Oil and Gas producers to determine if any additional precautions need to take place.
Grand Junction Field Office
Bureau of Land Management