By Matthew Bains

 HYTHE, ALTA. – Standing on the edge of his home near Hythe, Alta., Wiebo Ludwig was quick to say that he had nothing to do with the inferno that was lighting up the night sky behind him.

 “The first thing I want to say is that I want to deny I had anything to do with this, I didn’t start this,” said Ludwig.

 The 68 year-old rancher was referring to the gas well that was still on fire about seven kilometres northwest of his home, following a well blow-out that had occurred nearly 14 hours earlier at about 3 a.m. on Feb. 24. Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board stated there were no injuries resulting from the incident, no immediate threat to public safety and no hydrogen sulphide detected in the air. Their investigation is ongoing, but a spokesperson for the RCMP in Alberta said there was no reason at this time for a police investigation.

 If Ludwig was quick to profess his innocence, it’s because he has been accused, but not charged, by police of being behind the six unsolved bombings of EnCana installations in the Tomslake area. He was arrested in Grande Prairie on Jan. 8, and he said he was grilled by investigators for several hours and accused of extortion. He was released the next day, but the RCMP continued to search the community for a few more days before leaving. Ludwig said they took a computer, printer, stamps, pens and other items, and have since returned some of those items but have kept others.

 To the approximately 50 residents who live at Trickle Creek, a self-sustained farming community, the blowout is just another example of the dangers they are faced with as a result of the intense oil and gas activity around their home. Ludwig said they were monitoring the wind direction closely and had a bus equipped with oxygen tanks ready to go in case they felt they were in danger. Coincidently, he said he and some of the other residents were in the midst of a three-day protest at a sour gas well about three kilometres north of Trickle Creek when they were told to leave the area because of the blow-out.

 Ludwig said their community has been dealing with the impacts of the industry for decades now. He blames the activity for causing death and deformities in livestock and for stillbirths experienced by women in the community.

 “People are pretty ignorant of what emissions from the oilfield can do to you,” he said. “Even long-term, low-level emissions, and H2S in particular, can ruin the central nervous system irreversibly, and is particularly dangerous for fetal development.”

 However, the industry believes the Trickle Creek residents are a danger to them, and three companies, including EnCana, issued a peace bond against Ludwig, his son Benjamin and their neighbour, Richard Boonstra. Ludwig said the hearing has been postponed to March 24 and they’re considering launching a cross-bond against the companies.

 “After all of the things they’ve done to us, they’re trying to say that we’re a danger to them. I can see there’s only one reason we’d be a danger to them, and that is because of what they’re doing to us.” 

 Ludwig pointed out a number of wells surrounding Trickle Creek, explaining the activity had really picked up again in the last couple of years. He said at one time he counted 34 different operators drilling in the area. He said there were a few years where operators had backed off from drilling around Trickle Creek, but perhaps not surprisingly, that was following his conviction in 1999 on three counts of unlawful use of explosives and two counts of mischief following two explosions near Trickle Creek and one near Hinton, Alta. He served two-thirds of a 28-month sentence and was released in 2001. He maintains he is innocent in those incidents as well, saying that they had no hard evidence against him and he had grounds to appeal the conviction, but decided not to because of the legal costs he was incurring.

 The rancher said he will continue to try to organize a grassroots movement to try to “get control of our own territories again instead of letting foreign companies or outside interests exploit this whole Peace River region.” He said it will take nothing short of a major shift in people’s mindsets to return to what he believes is some sensibility. He added the long-term goal would be to replace the oil and gas development with alternative forms of energy and to restore the economic viability of farming.