This explosion was caused by a leaky fuel pipeline that runs near Whatcom Creek. Three kids were playing with some firecrackers near the water and didn’t know the stream was floating several thousand gallons of highly flammable liquid toward the bay. It killed all of them and burned a significant portion of the lower end of Whatcom Falls Park to cinders. I was at work at the time and though my store was nowhere near the park, our power was still disrupted briefly and you could hear/feel the shock wave through the floor. Needless to say, it upset a lot of people.

     The photographs above were taken by my stepfather, Bob Lindsay, only moments after the initial explosion from the street in front of our house, facing roughly northwest. I estimate the column is several thousand feet high.