An intermittent breeze and scudding clouds eased the intensity of the afternoon sun in Whatcom Falls Park on Monday as a small crowd observed the unveiling of interpretive signs on the pathway below the city’s water treatment plant. It was a fitting place to mark the tragic losses and meaningful outcomes of the Olympic Pipeline explosion that rocked Bellingham 25 years ago.
Bellingham Parks & Recreation installed the signs to educate future visitors about the disaster that occurred after a ruptured pipeline leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline into Whatcom Creek and ignited, destroying the landscape and killing three youths.
“We have so much to be grateful for,” said Mary King, the mother of Wade, one of the boys lost in the explosion on June 10, 1999. “I wish people didn’t have to walk through here and remember, but their life lives on, and this shows the meaning of that loss.”
The Pipeline Safety Trust, in partnership with the city, Whatcom Land Trust, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and RE Sources, hosted a series of events this month including a film screening, a Whatcom Creek restoration work day, walking tours of the park, and a webinar on pipeline safety that drew more than 600 viewers from around the country.
The events culminated in a remembrance ceremony later on June 10, in the auditorium of Bellingham High School, where community leaders, elected officials, musicians and family members reflected on the tragedy and its aftermath.
It was an evening of solemnity and solidarity where people impacted by the disaster shared not only their grief but also lighter anecdotes — Wade’s unquenchable enthusiasm for baseball, how neighborhood kids spent long summer days in the park, and Liam Wood’s concern for the welfare of earthworms — and contemplated Bellingham’s audacious spirit in stepping up to face the pipeline industry.
“As time goes by, it’s easy to let these memories fade but we can’t forget that through our strength and the strength of the community, we persevered through the immediate shock, looked at the long term, and saw what needed to be done,” said Bellingham council member Skip Williams, who lost his stepson Stephen Tsiorvas to the tragedy. “In so doing, we made the world a little better, safer place to live.”
While much of the ceremony was about the past, some speakers encouraged the audience to look forward and continue to influence history. Violinist and storyteller Swil Kanim, who played a piece inspired by the sound of Whatcom Creek, said it was up to the community’s elders to care about the well-being of their descendants.
“It is our responsibility to hold the future up for the children,” Kanim said. “As elders, it’s our responsibility to make the essential changes in the world.”
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
