Buena Vista County, Iowa — Previously we’ve told you about suspected cases of arson destroying equipment used to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline, the pipeline that will transport Bakken crude oil from the oil fields of North Dakota, diagonally across Iowa, passing through Lyon, Sioux, and O’Brien counties on the way to Illinois. Those suspected arson cases took place in central and eastern Iowa, but now the crimes have moved into northwest Iowa.
Buena Vista County Sheriff Kory Elston says a fire was reported Tuesday night southwest of Newell, or east-southeast of Storm Lake, close to where the pipeline is being worked on. Elston says two excavators, a bulldozer, and a side boom owned by Precision Pipeline are all considered a total loss, with estimated damages exceeding $1-million.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are working with Buena Vista County authorities on the investigation into this latest incident.
Previous suspicious fires of Bakken Pipeline equipment were reported in Jasper and Mahaska counties.
