CHEYENNE, Wyo.

Gas explosion injures four as workers clean tank

An explosion at a natural gas storage tank injured four workers on Tuesday in western Wyoming, authorities said.

The blast occurred as a maintenance crew was cleaning out the tank in the desert about 30 miles northwest of Green River, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Stephen Malik said.

Three of the injured men were taken to a Salt Lake City hospital and the fourth was treated locally and released, said K Leonard, a spokeswoman for Houston-based EOG Resources, which owns the tank. Further details were unavailable.

Western Wyoming is home to two of the biggest gas fields in the U.S. – the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field about 50 miles northeast of the EOG tank. Many more gas wells are scattered along the eastern slope of the Wyoming Range.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.

Wolves again designated for federal protection

Wyoming wolves are back under federal projection after a ruling Tuesday by a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday rejected a Wyoming wolf-management plan that had declared wolves unprotected predators that could be shot on sight in most of the state. Her ruling sided with national environmental groups that had argued Wyoming’s management plan afforded insufficient protection for wolves.

Berman ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was wrong to trust nonbinding promises from the state of Wyoming to maintain at least 100 wolves, including 10 breeding pairs, outside of Yellowstone and the Wind River Indian Reservation.

PLACERVILLE, Calif.

Winds may worsen wildfire; 2,000 firefighters added

Nearly 2,000 firefighters were added Tuesday to battle a massive Northern California wildfire that threatened thousands of homes and fouled the air 50 miles away in Reno, Nevada, which was blanketed by smoke.

The King Fire east of Sacramento has scorched about 139 square miles. Fire crews increased containment to 35 percent after several days of more favorable weather but with drier air and increasing winds in the forecast, reinforcements were brought in pushing the number of firefighters on the scene to 7,400.

Wind gusts up to 35 mph, combined with low humidity, could stoke the flames and send embers flying ahead of the blaze.

The wildfire, which authorities believe was set on Sept. 13, has destroyed 12 homes and 57 outbuildings. It continues to threaten about 21,000 structures, more than half of them homes.

– From news service reports