Pipeline Blast Is Deadly Reminder of Risk

In the low scrubby desert of southeast New Mexico, families from agricultural communities often gather for weekends of hunting, fishing and camping. Few give thought to what lies beneath the sandy soil: miles and miles of snaking pipelines that pump natural gas from the region’s rich fields to consumers across the country.

Two extended families whose love for fishing and camping drew them to the banks of the Pecos River near Carlsbad, N.M., were all but wiped out at dawn Saturday in what’s believed to be the most deadly natural gas pipeline explosion in recent U.S. history. The inferno melted tents, gutted three vehicles and killed 10 people--three generations of family--including 6-month-old twin girls.

The scattered communities nestled along the crook of the Texas border were trying Sunday to comprehend the human toll exacted by the blast and sort out how the explosion shook their notion of the ground under their feet.

Jason Lowe, a Carlsbad firefighter who calls himself “an outdoorsman, like everyone else around here,” said hunters tramp around gas fields and step over aboveground pipes.

“There’s not a whole lot of thought given to the lines,” he said. “The pipelines are everywhere in this area; they are clearly marked [with signs]. You don’t think you can do anything to an underground pipeline.

“This has scared people. It’s such a tragedy. There’s always a camp or two every weekend right near where they were.”

Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the explosion, which gouged a crater 85 feet long, 45 feet wide and 25 feet deep into the hard-packed desert sand. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the site Sunday.

Pipeline safety has become an increasingly contentious issue, with 165,000 miles of aging pipes coursing underground across the country. Statistics are difficult to come by, but Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) testified at a hearing last March that in the last 15 years pipeline accidents have claimed 325 lives.

A pipeline rupture last year in Bellingham, Wash., that killed three people was seized upon by NTSB Chairman James E. Hall as an example of the potential for catastrophic pipeline failures. Hall accused the federal Office of Pipeline Safety of adopting rules that are “too little, too late” to safeguard the public. The office has spent six years attempting to construct a national pipeline map but hasn’t completed the task.

The pipeline that ruptured Saturday carries gas to markets in the Southwest, California and northern Mexico, according to the El Paso Natural Gas Co.

The two families involved in the accident--the Smiths and Sumlers--were joined by marriage, lived in three adjacent communities and had spent the last few weekends scouting potential campsites. They settled on the cool riverside spot, prized for its proximity to the Pecos’ catfish and bass. The campers--three grandparents, a brother and sister and their spouses and five small children--had pitched tents under a bridge. The site, which is on state land, is not an established campground but well-known to local fishermen.

The land also served as a right of way for El Paso Natural Gas. The pipeline rupture occurred about 500 feet from the campsite.

According to officials, the powerful explosion sent flames shooting out of the 31-inch-diameter underground pipeline, which acted like a flamethrower directed toward the campers. The campsite was engulfed in searing heat while the campers slept. Some adults took refuge in the river, but none of the 12 people at the site escaped the flames.

By late Sunday, the only two survivors--Bobby Smith, 43, and his daughter-in-law Amanda Sumler Smith, 25--were in critical condition at University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas.

The hospital was inundated with dozens of family members. Friends from Victory Baptist Church, which some of the family members attended, drove the three hours to Lubbock.

John Dillender, pastor at Loving Baptist Church, in Loving, N.M., turned his Sunday sermon into a discussion about supporting friends through crisis. The town of about 1,300 is home to some of the victims.

“If you’re from here, you understand that the pipelines are there, but you don’t think about the danger,” he said. “We can’t know if there’s a leak or a crack. You have to trust.”

The region is crisscrossed with pipelines, above and below ground. The buried lines are pressurized and regulated by a series of valves.

The pipeline that ruptured was said to have been built in the 1950s, and a report said that the gas company logged a drop in pressure five minutes before the huge fireball was spotted by a company employee hunting in the area.

The Pecos River, with 7 1/2 miles of trails along its banks, is a popular playground for weekenders. Eddie Herrington, owner of Carlsbad RV Park and Campground, said, “I wasn’t aware they were high-pressure gas lines. Everyone is afraid and in shock. We take pride in that river. I don’t know what to think about it now.”

Sheriff’s deputies, state and local police and firefighters from nearby communities all responded to the scene. What they saw, as the sun was rising, was unforgettable.

“Totally black, total devastation,” said Carlos Montoya of the New Mexico State Police. “The fire had jumped over the river; it had destroyed all the vehicles and burned out all the vegetation.”

Six people were pronounced dead at the scene, and others were found in the river.

Their burns were far too grave for any local hospital to handle, so the victims were sent to University Medical Center in Lubbock.

It was a community effort to transport the injured: Only one helicopter ambulance was available, so two Blackhawk helicopters were dispatched from Fort Bliss near El Paso, and one victim was flown the 150 miles in a small plane.

In Concord, N.C., on Sunday, another natural gas pipeline exploded in flames at a construction site.

Officials evacuated a large shopping mall nearby as flames and debris shot 100 feet into the air. Authorities reported no injuries.