WELD COUNTY, Colo. — Recovery efforts began Saturday around the Bishop Well site in Weld County after a release of oil and gas from Chevron wells prompted evacuations last weekend.
The Bishop Well site incident occurred Sunday evening at an oil and gas facility south of WCR 74 near the community of Galeton.
The incident injured one person and prompted the evacuation of a handful of nearby residents and the closure of Galeton Elementary School.
Those evacuations remain in place, with 13 homes within the current exclusion zone. The county said none of the other Chevron wells on location are currently producing and are all in a safe state.
The release of oil and gas from the Chevron site was fully contained on Thursday, four days after the start of the incident.
Weld County authorities said crews began cleaning structures, roads, and vehicles around the site on Saturday, including Galeton Elementary School and the evacuated homes.
Crews removed equipment from the site last week, and air monitoring continues. The results remain below levels of concern for public health, according to the county.
It’s still unclear what caused the release, which Chevron said was “primarily water with some oil and gas."
Weld County said a team will conduct a thorough root cause analysis of the incident once recovery efforts are complete.
Those with livestock should contact their veterinarians to evaluate and monitor their animals. If you have questions or need assistance boarding or relocating livestock, please get in touch with Chevron at 1-877-359-1285.
The Joint Information Center has established a Community Information Line at 970-400-4264.
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