OPAL, Wyo. (AP) — Residents and emergency crews were waiting for a
fire to burn itself out after an explosion at a natural gas processing
plant in a small town in southwestern Wyoming.No injuries were
reported in the explosion Wednesday in Opal, a town of about 95 people
about 100 miles northeast of Salt Lake City. All of Opal was evacuated.
Gas from the plant serves a huge number of customers across the West and as far east as Ohio, but the explosion came between the winter heating and summer cooling seasons, when demand is lower, officials said.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion.
The blast was reported at about 2 p.m. and the fire burned into the night. It wasn't clear when residents would be allowed to go home.
"They were downwind from the plant," Lincoln County Sheriff Shane Johnson said. "The fire was still very active, and because of the nature of the processing that goes on there, that was the call that was made for safety reasons."
The explosion occurred in a cryogenic processing tower, which chills unrefined natural gas to remove impurities.
Gas from the plant serves a huge number of customers across the West and as far east as Ohio, but the explosion came between the winter heating and summer cooling seasons, when demand is lower, officials said.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion.
The blast was reported at about 2 p.m. and the fire burned into the night. It wasn't clear when residents would be allowed to go home.
"They were downwind from the plant," Lincoln County Sheriff Shane Johnson said. "The fire was still very active, and because of the nature of the processing that goes on there, that was the call that was made for safety reasons."
The explosion occurred in a cryogenic processing tower, which chills unrefined natural gas to remove impurities.
The fire was confined to the facility, and no structures in the town were affected, county officials said.
All employees at the gas processing plant were accounted for, said Tom Droege, a spokesman for Williams Partners LP of Tulsa, Okla., which operates the plant.
Williams was paying to lodge Opal residents at motels in Little America, about 25 miles east, and in Kemmerer, about 15 miles west.
"We want to make sure everybody's taken care of and they're put up for the night if they're not able to go back to their houses," Williams spokeswoman Michele Swaner said. Read more... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/24/opal-wyoming-natural-gas-explosion_n_5204586.html
All employees at the gas processing plant were accounted for, said Tom Droege, a spokesman for Williams Partners LP of Tulsa, Okla., which operates the plant.
Williams was paying to lodge Opal residents at motels in Little America, about 25 miles east, and in Kemmerer, about 15 miles west.
"We want to make sure everybody's taken care of and they're put up for the night if they're not able to go back to their houses," Williams spokeswoman Michele Swaner said. Read more... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/24/opal-wyoming-natural-gas-explosion_n_5204586.html
