State Briefs

Woman injured in well explosion

EVANSTON (WNE) — Uinta County emergency crews responded to an explosion near Henry Fork Road, between County Road 283 and Lonetree, on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 23, at a building covering a well head at an oil field location. 

One person was working in the building at the time of the explosion. 

Dexter Mohler, Bridger Valley Fire Chief, said that person, a female private contractor, was able to phone a coworker for help. The coworker was able to get to her and begin transporting her to rendezvous with emergency crews. 

A redacted incident report from the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office said the call came in shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday morning, and an ambulance met the burned woman in the Polaris dealership parking lot. The incident report states the woman said she “didn’t remember anything but being on fire.” 

She was then transported to Evanston Regional Hospital with serious burn injuries before being transferred to the University of Utah Burn Unit. 

When the fire department arrived at the explosion site, they helped to safely shut down the rest of the well. The incident report indicates the coworker was at another well about four miles away when the victim called for help. When the coworker arrived, it was obvious the woman had rolled in the dirt in an effort to extinguish the flames. 

Mohler said the source of the ignition of the natural gas explosion is unknown and is still under investigation at this time, though the incident report states the cause may have been static electricity. 

Man sentenced to five years in apartment fire

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 37-year-old man who set fire to a Gillette apartment building in December 2017 will serve five years in federal prison.

Chief Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced Shaun Michael Sprague on Feb. 5 to 60 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release for arson of a facility engaged in interstate commerce.

No one was hurt in the East 12th Street apartment fire, but several residents were displaced.

The fire destroyed the apartment, which was rented to Sprague’s brother, and damaged a nearby building.

Sprague had been charged locally with first-degree arson in the fire, but those charges were dropped when he was indicted federally, said Chris McDonald with the state Division of Criminal Investigation.

Sprague pleaded guilty to the federal charges in a plea agreement in which he would receive the 60-month sentence, the mandatory minimum, McDonald said.

Sprague had come to Gillette in early December 2017 to say with his brother, who asked that he not use drugs while living at the apartment, according to court documents. When the brother suspected that Sprague was using drugs, he confronted him.

Sprague sought drug treatment in South Dakota but returned to Gillette in time for Christmas, when he fought with his mother. She told investigators that he had made nonsensical statements and that she was worried about his drug use and mental health.

The next day, he tried to return an apartment key to his brother, who assured him he could stay at the apartment, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Then on Dec. 27, a neighbor saw Sprague drive away from the building and shortly afterward noticed flames. A firefighter smelled gasoline when he arrived on scene.

Methane forces evacuation of soda ash mine

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — Ciner Wyoming LLC employees were evacuated Saturday after monitors detected elevated methane levels, according to a company press release.

“We evacuated all personnel from the mine and turned off the power due to the elevated levels of methane,” it states. “Thankfully, all our employees are safe.”

The soda ash mining company will work with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration “until the methane has dissipated back to normal levels, and we can safely return our employees back into the mine,” according to Ciner.

“Our surface operations are continuing to function normally utilizing ore from our existing stockpile,” it states.

When asked about a timeline as to when workers can go back to work, how long the investigation may take and what impact the incident could have moving forward, Ciner Site Manager Craig Rood told the Rocket-Miner that the press release was all he had as of Monday afternoon.