BISMARCK, N.D.—Natural gas flares at oil wells sparked two North Dakota wildfires earlier this fall, according to reports from the North Dakota Fire Marshal’s Office.
Investigators concluded that flares combined with high winds and extremely dry weather and started a wildfire near the town of Keena and another near New Town, the Bismarck Tribune reported Thursday. Officials with ConocoPhillips and Hess Corp., which operate the oil wells, say they’re still reviewing the reports.
No one was killed or injured in the two fires that both began Oct. 5, but a combined 14 square miles were burned, damaging land and livestock….