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Oil Springs Fire in Northwest Colorado Burned to Within One Mile of Natural Gas Facility

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Lucas Turner

The fire, burning 20 miles south of Rangely, is currently the state's largest at about 12,600 acres.

This story was produced by Lucas Turner of the Rio Blanco Herald Times for KVNF Radio.

The Oil Springs Fire has calmed down this week, thanks to much-needed rain and the hard work of more than 300 local and federal firefighters.

Things didn’t look quite as positive last week, as exceptional drought conditions and heavy winds fueled extreme fire behavior, forcing emergency evacuations, power shut-offs, and road closures.

It also threatened a large natural gas processing facility, which could have led to an explosive situation.

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