In January and February of 1991, coalition forces drove Iraqi forces out of their neighboring country of Kuwait after an invasion that stunned the world and which led to the US involvement in what is now known as the first Gulf War. As these Iraqi forces fled, they set fire to over 700 separate oil wells throughout the small, yet oil rich country. The result of this action was the uncontrollable burning of these oil wells for almost a year. Because of the danger of land mines near the wells, as well as the sheer heat put off by the flames, firefighting teams could not immediately conquer the problem.
Many firefighting teams and oil well specialists were brought in from all over the world to fight the worst firestorm in middle eastern history. Well over a billion dollars was put into the effort, and many soldiers claim that they now suffer medical problems from the intense smoke and carbon that blanketed the region for months after the fires were put out.
Environmentally, the long term effects of burning six million barrels of oil a day are still unknown. Leading scientists claim that the smoke had a significant effect on local weather patterns that year, including hail in areas of the Middle East that had not seen hail before. Because nothing like this had ever happened before, scientists came up with a variety of theories, some of which have yet to be proven or dis-proven.
It was a once in a lifetime event that changed the way we think about oil, the wells in the Middle East, and the way we fight such fires. Though it took a year to put them all out, many intuitive advances came from the process of calming the heat and getting the super hot flames under control including a jet engine fire suppression system. While this year was one of hardship and recovery, the men and women who were there showed just how creative, and persistent, humans can be in light of tragedy.
Want to learn more about the oil fires in Kuwait? Perhaps the best way is through the IMAX dvd title IMAX: Fires of Kuwait
