Gasoline Leak Ignites Blast; 2 Youths Hurt

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A gasoline pipeline leak ignited a fireball that barreled down a creek for a half-mile Thursday, burning two youngsters.

The explosion near the city’s water treatment plant on Whatcom Creek sent a cloud of black smoke about 30,000 feet into the sky over this northwest Washington city, witnesses said.

“It looked like Mt. St. Helens!” said Michele Higgins, public information officer for Whatcom County Emergency Services.

Harborview Medical Center in Seattle said two boys, both about 10 years old, were in critical condition with burns.

The fire scorched both sides of the creek, burning trees and other vegetation, authorities said. Police did not know what sparked the fire, which burned out within an hour.

Firefighters continued to battle smaller fires ignited by the blaze.

Olympic Pipe Line Co. spokeswoman Joann Hamick said the company estimated 277,200 gallons of gasoline leaked before the pipeline was turned off automatically from company headquarters in the Seattle suburb of Renton.

“We’re seeing a lot of dead fish already,” said Dick Logan, ecology resource damage assessment coordinator.