More than 277,000 gallons of gas flowed into Whatcom Creek, killing three people.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — It was a sunny summer day and Wade King's school year was nearly over as he prepared to start fifth grade at Roosevelt Elementary School.
He went to Whatcom Falls Park to enjoy the weather and play with his friend and classmate, Steven Tsiolvas, both 10 years old.
In an instant, everything changed.
“I woke up this morning and realized that 25 years ago there was no way we could have imagined our lives would be the way they are today,” Wade's mother, Mary, said.
Today, few traces remain of the tragedy that occurred along Whatcom Creek a quarter century ago, but the pain cannot be erased.
On June 10, 1999, Wade and Steven were playing along the creek when more than 250,000 gallons of gasoline ignited, killing two 10-year-old boys and 18-year-old Liam Wood, who had been fishing upstream.
“No one ever dreamed of such a scenario,” Mary said.
Thirty-thousand-foot-high smoke blackened the skies over Whatcom County and was visible from British Columbia to Anacortes.
Wade would have turned 35 today, and although a life was lost, Wade's parents are grateful for the short time they had with their son.
“I don't think we can go through life thinking about what ifs,” Mary says. “Wade lived a full decade. Of course, it wasn't enough. Every day counts. Just wake up and be thankful for another day.”
A pressure relief valve on the Olympic Pipeline failed somewhere between Ferndale and Bellingham, bursting and causing a catastrophic spill of gasoline into the creek.
At the time, there was little to no regulation regarding pipeline inspections, but things have changed and the three lives lost were not in vain.
“Right now, this pipeline undergoes rigorous inspections every five years, and those inspections specify what needs to be done to repair the pipe,” said Carl Weimer of the Pipeline Safety Trust, an advocacy group formed after the explosion.
To commemorate the explosion and honour those who died, signs bearing the boys' names and photos have been installed along the park's walking paths.
It reminds us how fragile and fleeting life is.
“Live life and love your kids,” Frank King said. “That's all you can do.”
Memorial Ceremony
Hundreds of neighbors gathered at Bellingham High School Monday night for an emotional ceremony commemorating the Olympic Pipeline explosion in Bellingham.
“This is part of the DNA of this town and we want to make sure this story is never forgotten,” said Bill Cullum, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust.
Exactly 25 years later, dozens of people gathered to pray over the victims' treasured possessions.
In addition to the loss of life, the explosion also destroyed 26 acres of trees and vegetation, and more than 100,000 fish were recorded to have died.
“Every living thing in that stream died,” Karam said.
The neighbors were outraged.
“Within weeks of the explosion, they were trying to get the pipeline back in the ground and running again, despite having no idea why it ruptured. The residents of Bellingham said that couldn't happen,” said Carl Weimer, special projects counsel for the Pipeline Safety Trust.
Bellingham locals are holding Olympic Pipeline Company accountable.
“They have advocated for the creation of a national watchdog to oversee the pipeline industry and its regulators,” Karam said.
Three pipeline executives received prison sentences for their roles in the explosion, and the companies involved were ordered to pay $112 million in fines.
