Well Site Fire

Burning diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid from several 18-wheelers sent a thick cloud of black smoke billowing over parts of west Shreveport this afternoon.The trucks were involved in the hydraulic fracturing -- or "fracking" -- process at a Chesapeake well site just off Rice Road when one of them caught fire and flames quickly spread to the others. But, even though there were houses nearby, Chief Scott Wolverton with the Shreveport Fire Department says residents did not have to leave. Firefighters from Caddo Fire Districts Three, Four, and One -- as well as the Shreveport Fire Deparment -- responded to the call. They had to refill their tanker trucks from a hydrant at the corner of Rice Road and Greenwood Road and then ferry that water to the well site. The well, itself, was not involved in the fire and there were no injuries reported.