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Explosion alarms New Town residents
Photo Courtesy Fort Berthold Community Facebook
Amy Brooks and her family were going about their day, enjoying a peaceful morning in their home on July 18th. Then around 10 a.m., an alarming movement outside startled the New Town residents.
“Earlier this morning, we were in the house, and I actually thought that something blew against the house,” said Brooks. “We came running out and then saw across the way all the black smoke.”
The New Town Fire Department received a report that it was an explosion near the bypass north of the tribal council headquarters at this North Dakota location. The incident, which occurred on the Fort Berthold Reservation, originated at an oil-field site operated by petroleum giant Devon Energy Corp., a company spokesperson told Buffalo’s Fire.
One person is confirmed to be in treatment at Trinity Hospital in Minot. According to KX News, four people were injured as a result of the event.
At the time, personnel from multiple agencies assisted with traffic and safety at the scene of Highway 23-1804 and College Drive. Responders closed and then reopened the bypass on the same day.
“I thought someone had thrown something at the house, that’s how loud it was,” said Brooks. “It must have just been from the blast hitting the back of it.”
“My main thing is the air because we don’t know what’s in it.”
Amy Brooks, New Town resident
Like Brooks, whose home is located about three blocks away from the site of the explosion, many who live in New Town were caught off guard. While some residents felt the explosion, others only took notice when they saw the smoke.
On their way to a Cenex gas station, Angel Palmersheim and her sister drove not far from the site of the explosion.
“I was driving with my sister, and we never felt the blast,” said Palmersheim. “My brother/cousin asked if we’re ok. We said yes, why? And then we seen the smoke.”
The black cloud of pollution was visible from different parts of New Town. While this isn’t the first time that an incident like this has occurred, this is the closest to home that locals have seen it.
“I talked to another girl in town, and she says this is the second time it happened,” said Brooks. “And I know I’ve seen it several times staying over here the past couple of years, but I’ve never seen it this close to town.”
Among concerns that inhabitants have now is the explosion’s effect on air quality and possible toxins released. “My main thing is the air because we don’t know what’s in it,” Brooks said.
Valorie Brady, whose house is in throwing distance, told Buffalo’s Fire she is “worried about what was going to be in the air after that explosion. Would it affect our breathing it in?”