Author Ron Holcomb worked as a public information officer and spill responder for the Washington Department of Ecology.
On June 10, 1999, an Olympic Pipe Line Co. pipeline in Whatcom Falls Park ruptured and spilled about 237,000 gallons of gasoline into Hanna and Whatcom creeks. The resulting explosion and fireball killed 18-year-old Liam Wood and 10-year-old friends Wade King and Stephen Tsiorvas, injured eight people, and charred more than 1.5 miles of Whatcom Creek.
Kahn: Your first book, “Constant Chaos,” recounts numerous environmental spills, mishaps and disasters, including Bellingham’s explosion, that you dealt with as a spill responder. Why did you decide Bellingham warranted a book of its own?
Holcomb: My chapter in “Constant Chaos” about the Olympic pipeline explosion is, at best, an executive summary of a long and complex story. I had to leave out many key details and important human elements, which means the chapter falls short of providing the depth that this tragic and historic event deserves.
Another chapter in “Constant Chaos,” the story of a spill that oiled beaches from Ocean Shores to the west coast of Vancouver Island and killed more than 50,000 seabirds, has been written about in a book. I used it as a reference while writing that chapter, and it planted the seed in my mind that a book about the Bellingham incident was possible.
Kahn: What surprising things did you learn while researching the Bellingham explosion?
Holcomb: The Bellingham disaster and its aftermath had many surprising aspects, making it challenging to address them all for this article.
‘The tenacity of the victims’ families advocating
for pipeline safety while dealing with the trauma of
losing their sons was impressive and humbling.’
The first surprise came while I was part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s initial investigation team. Eight Olympic Pipe Line Co. employees invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer questions about the incident. That had never happened during an NTSB investigation. The number of failures by Olympic that led to the disaster was shocking, and had any one of them been addressed, the pipeline wouldn’t have ruptured.
When the gasoline exploded in Whatcom Creek, the water literally evaporated. Fuel was pushed into the creek’s sediments and the stream banks. None of the environmental and natural resource experts had ever seen anything like it, resulting in a “one-of-a-kind” cleanup process.
The first criminal investigation of its kind under federal pipeline safety laws and its conclusion were surprising for an environmental case. The tenacity of the victims’ families advocating for pipeline safety while dealing with the trauma of losing their sons was impressive and humbling.
Kahn: Why do you think someone else hasn’t already written a book about the Bellingham disaster?
Holcomb: I was quite surprised that no one had written a book about the pipeline disaster, given that it received extensive news coverage and inspired a national push to improve pipeline safety. After spending a year researching, interviewing, and writing about the incident and its aftermath, I have several theories.
One reason may be that the disaster took such an incredible emotional toll on everyone who was directly involved in the incident or indirectly affected, such as Bellingham residents who witnessed it or knew the victims or their families. For many, that trauma lasted for years. I was an outsider who played a minor role in the response, and it had a profound impact on me. I have teared up during author talks when I’m asked about the most significant environmental disaster in my career. I continue to become emotional when I write and edit passages for the book involving the boys who died and their families. That emotional impact may have been too overwhelming for someone locally to write a book about it.
Another possible reason is that the story has multiple layers that played out over many years. There were numerous years-long investigations, legal battles, state and federal legislative efforts, regulatory oversight challenges, criminal prosecutions, and decades-long environmental recovery efforts. An important aspect of the story involves the local group that evolved into the nationally recognized Pipeline Safety Trust, whose efforts continue to this day. The story hasn’t ended.
‘A small town … that is united and determined can make a
fundamental change in the regulatory environment that affects
one of the most powerful and wealthy businesses in the United States ….’
Kahn: It has been a quarter-century since the disaster. How has the passage of time hindered, and perhaps helped, your research for the book?
Holcomb: The time since the disaster has both aided and complicated my research. It’s beneficial because a wealth of information is available, including video overviews, short documentaries, anniversary publications, and all the other documentation previously mentioned. Unfortunately, I have discovered that a few key individuals are no longer available or are difficult to locate. Other individuals are having trouble recalling details.
Kahn: What have you learned about Bellingham as a community in 1999, and how that did the community’s character impact its response to the disaster?
Holcomb: The Bellingham community responded remarkably to this tragedy. Firefighters, police officers, city workers, victims’ families, the mayor, other elected officials, residents who formed SAFE Bellingham, local news media, and many others all rallied in response to the disaster.
I believe one of former Mayor Mark Asmundson’s quotes captures the spirit of the community’s response: “A small town in Northwest Washington that is united and determined can make a fundamental change in the regulatory environment that affects one of the most powerful and wealthy businesses in the United States, and that is the oil industry.”
Kahn: How is pipeline safety different today because of the disaster?
Holcomb: The Bellingham explosion, along with a pipeline tragedy in New Mexico a year later, drew attention to weak laws and lax regulatory oversight. That attention, coupled with the tenacious lobbying by the victims’ parents, Bellingham officials, SAFE Bellingham, and other advocates, resulted in tougher state and federal pipeline safety laws.
Unfortunately, weaknesses persist in the law and the federal regulatory system overseeing the pipeline industry. The federal Office of Pipeline Safety is both understaffed and underfunded, while the oil industry possesses a powerful lobby. New challenges have emerged regarding pipelines for carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Additionally, the current administration’s push to reduce the federal workforce and regulations threatens the progress made in pipeline safety.
Kahn: When do you anticipate your book will be finished?
Holcomb: It may depend on whether I secure a publishing contract or choose to self-publish the book. Ideally, I hope to finish the manuscript before the end of this year and publish it in 2026.
An expanded version of this article will appear in December 2025 in the annual journal published by The Whatcom County Historical Society. To learn about the Pipeline Safety Trust in Bellingham, go to pstrust.org.
— By Ron Holcomb and Dean Kahn
Also read in Salish Current:
• “25 years later, memories of pipeline disaster still haunt families,” June 7, 2024
• “Pipeline explosion: Part 2 — Healing and aftermath,” May 8, 2024
• “Pipeline explosion: Part 1 — The day Bellingham ‘lost its innocence’,” May 7, 2024
• “Pipeline growth booms; US agency in charge of safety struggles to keep up, Dec. 15, 2023