``We're just having a beer now after a hard day,'' said Kerk Hilton, spokesman for Acclaim Energy Trust, the Calgary-based company that owns the well. ``It's a relief.''
The well near the Enoch Cree reserve west of Edmonton first started leaking Sunday morning, which forced the evacuation of about 600 residents. Then it burst into flames Monday night shortly after most of the evacuees had been allowed to return home.
Crews had initially sprayed water and foam on the fire, but to little effect. It took the Red Deer-based Safety Boss team, famous for putting out oilwell fires in Kuwait in 1991, to extinguish the inferno with a dry chemical agent similar to baking soda.
Officials with Acclaim Energy Trust, which owns the well site, were initially cautious in case of another explosion, but finally announced the operation a success.
Workers will now turn their attention to capping the well.
The fire was accidentally sparked by static electricity Monday as workers were installing slings on the leaking well. Two men were surrounded by flames for about 10 seconds, but were treated at the scene, released and were back on the job Tuesday.
Safety Boss president Mike Miller called it a ``high-risk environment. We had people nearly seriously burned last night.''
He said the fire was not that large when compared to the fires he fought in Kuwait, but it still posed a challenge.
Darin Barter of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board said there was no thought to ordering another evacuation since air monitoring reports throughout the day indicated there was no hazard to the public.
The original evacuation was prompted by fears the underground leak could release toxic levels of hydrogen sulphide. The flammable, colourless gas smells like rotten eggs and can be debilitating or even lethal in high doses.
It was still not known what caused the leak, although officials at Acclaim Energy said a crack in the pipe that ushers the gas out of the well is the most likely explanation.
On-site officials estimated the well was leaking roughly one million cubic feet of gas a day _ enough to fuel seven typical Alberta households for a year.
