Pipeline explosion investigation focuses on rural community

The focus of an RCMP investigation into two explosions targeting deadly toxic sour gas pipelines in northern B.C. is now turning toward a small community southeast of Dawson Creek called Tomslake, near the location of the blasts.

The RCMP has scheduled a news conference Friday afternoon in Tomslake and officials are planning a town hall meeting for the evening to address residents' concerns.

Officials with EnCana and police admit they can't possibly patrol the vast network of pipelines snaking through the area's rolling hills, but said they plan to outline in more detail what security measures are already in place.

'We are throwing all the resources we can at this investigation.' —RCMP Sgt Tim Shields

The first explosion blew a 1.8-metre crater in the ground near a sour gas pipeline southeast of Dawson Creek sometime overnight Saturday. The second explosion blew a small leak in another sour gas pipeline 20 km away from the first, sometime overnight Wednesday.

Residents concerned

Residents of the rural community are worried about the potential for further bombings, and say they have questions about what police and EnCana officials are doing to ensure public safety.

Nobody was hurt by the explosions, which occurred in remote areas, but a major sour gas leak could release a cloud of deadly gas into the community.

Tom Dean, who works on the pipelines near Dawson Creek, said many living near the gas lines are on edge.

"If you blow up a pipeline, you are going to expose us all to that gas that you are calling poison, and you can end up killing one of your friends or family, or you know, a neighbour," said Dean on Thursday.

Area resident Sam Yaremcio, said many people living in the area feel the sour gas industry is expanding too fast and without regard for public safety, and he suspects the attacks are the result of that anger.

"It's a harsh way of proving their opposition to it, but I believe it's truly proving their point," said Yaremcio.

Many residents have spoken out at public hearings about the perceived dangers of numerous pipelines that carry regular natural gas and its poisonous cousin, sour gas, across private and public land, and the flaring off of excess gas from the wells.

Sour gas deadly if inhaled

Meanwhile the RCMP's national security unit is bringing more forensic experts to help as investigators continue to sift through the bomb site, looking for any clues as to who is behind these attacks.

Police are also appealing to residents to come forward with information on the bombings, but many have told CBC News the explosions are extreme examples of animosity between some residents and EnCana, the dominant gas company in the area.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Tim Shields said tips have started to come in, but still no word on any suspects.

Shields said it's the sour gas, which is a type of unrefined natural gas, in the targeted pipelines that makes the situation so dangerous.

"This pipeline contains natural gas, which contains hydrogen sulphide, which is deadly if inhaled. And for that reason we are throwing all the resources we can at this investigation," said Shields.

Safety primary concern: EnCana

Brian Lieverse, a community relations adviser with EnCana, said pipeline safety is its primary focus and the company was taken aback by the explosions.

"First of all it was surprise and secondly it's concern because we have people out there, we have neighbours out there. And we're always concerned about public safety, and that's part of my role is working with the public."

Lieverse said the next step for EnCana is to work with the RCMP to assist them in the investigation.

But criminologist Irwin Cohen says police will need a lot of help if they are to find out who planted the bombs.

"It's sort of like having to grab on to Jell-O, because there isn't this traditional kind of organization that we can go after where you can get membership lists, where information is on a computer, where I can arrest some person and they break up the entire cell," said Cohen on Thursday.

"These are…disorganized groups of individuals who are acting on behalf of a specific [cause] but not necessarily tied to any larger organization," said Cohen.

RCMP are calling the explosions vandalism, rather than terrorism, as it appears there was no intent to hurt people.