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Man severely burned at drill rig near Parachute

Pete Fowler
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado

PARACHUTE, Colo. ” A drill rig worker was flown to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction after suffering burns at a natural gas drill rig north of Parachute Thursday.

At 12:55 p.m., the Grand Valley Fire Protection District received a report of a drill rig worker with severe burns in Riley Gulch north of Parachute, said district Fire Chief David Blair.

The fire district sent an ambulance and a support truck, and the man was picked up by a St. Mary’s Hospital CareFlight helicopter, Blair said.



The worker was an employee of Petroleum Development Corporation (PDC), which owns the drilling site.

PDC Vice President Bart Brookman said he could not release the man’s identity because the company was still trying to contact the man’s family. He said he didn’t have more information about the man’s condition Thursday afternoon.




“All I can tell you is that there was a fire, he was burned and he was taken to Grand Junction for treatment,” Brookman said.

He added, “I would classify it ” from what we know ” as a small flash fire but again, the details are still being investigated.”

PDC’s website says it owns and operates 4,354 wells in the Rocky Mountain Region.

pfowler@postindependent.com