A Roaring Flame in the Desert: Residents Hope for a Gas Boom
A visiting party from White Bluffs witnesses a dramatic demonstration of a natural gas well near the Yakima river, sparking local hopes for a new industrial future.
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A group of White Bluffs residents, including the McFee, Sprague, and Beyers families, traveled by car to visit the natural gas well located near the Yakima River. Although only 12 miles southwest of Hanford, the group traveled 37 miles due to the lack of a direct road. The site, currently being managed by the Yakima Natural Gas & Oil Company, features a capped gas well that, when ignited, produced a roaring flame reaching 25 feet high. C.A. Day, treasurer of the company, noted that the flow is estimated at 300,000 cubic feet per day. The potential discovery of a large gas field has residents optimistic that the resource could provide cheaper power for the irrigation pumps that sustain the valley's agricultural economy.
“With a roar that was deafening for a few minutes, and throwing off sufficient heat to cause a general falling back of the crowd, the flame leaped to a height of perhaps 25 feet.”
This enthusiasm for local natural gas extraction reflects the boom-and-bust cycles that have defined the Mid-Columbia basin, from early irrigation dreams to the later, massive federal energy projects at Hanford. While this 1916 'gas rush' didn't yield a sustained industrial revolution, it illustrates the desperate local need for affordable power to lift water onto the region's arid plateaus.
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