Vandals shoot, burn Powell-area oil well and storage tanks

POWELL — An oil well and storage tank near the McCullough Peaks south of here were damaged over the weekend by vandals who used the facility for target practice and tried to set it ablaze.

The Park County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that deputies responded to reports of damage to an oil well and tank battery on a lease owned by the Bureau of Land Management near the rugged McCullough Peaks south of Powell and east of Cody.

Sheriff Scott Steward said the vandals shot at several bulk propane tanks, an oil battery tank, and line heaters in an apparent attempt to set the facility on fire.

The vandals also tried setting an adjoining building ablaze by dousing it with gasoline taken from an onsite generator. While the building caught fire, Steward said, it wasn't consumed by the flames.


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