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Oil Tank Fire Forces Evacuations

By Makenzie O'Keefe

BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - The Brighton Fire Department is investigating the cause of a fire at an oil tank farm Wednesday night near Highway 86 and Weld County Road 4.

The fire began just after 9 p.m. and forced evacuations before the flames were put out.

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Brighton Fire crews found four oil and gas separators on fire. Firefighters made sure all valves and oil flow into the air was shut off while they set up a rural water supply to protect the remaining equipment and tanks.

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(credit: CBS)
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Neighbors nearby watched the fire nervously.

"I thought there might be a detonation or something like that," explained Stan Hiller, who lives across the street. "That's what worried me."

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Stan Hiller (credit: CBS)

Firefighters say the property is owned by Great Western Oil and Gas.

No one was hurt, and the fire was put out just before 1 a.m.

Makenzie O'Keefe joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2017. Read her bio, follow her on Twitter at @makenziepokeefe or email her your story ideas.

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