January 22-February 23, 1991: Iraq Sets Kuwait Oil Wells Aflame

Blazing oil wells in Kuwait. [Source: US Department of Defense]Iraqi forces begin igniting an estimated 700 oil wells in northern Kuwait. [PBS Frontline, 1/9/1996; American Forces Press Service, 8/8/2000] Smoke from the burning oil wells can be seen from space. [Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses, 1/20/2008] One US soldier will later recall: “There were… days when the smoke [plumes] ‘hugged’ the ground and turned the sunlit, bright day into a dark of night. [We] traveled the ‘coastal highway,’ from Kuwait City down to Saudi Arabia… and the petroleum-thickened air was so impregnated that we choked on oil while breathing through our doubled-up scarves… We were forced to stop and clear the raw petroleum off vehicle windshields and our goggles constantly. At [times] on the highway the… air was so thick our vehicle headlights could not penetrate the air further than 10-15 feet, and Marine escorts were needed to walk… ahead of the vehicles to keep us on the highway.” It takes nine months of concerted efforts by the US and Kuwait to bring the oil well fires under control. Many military and civilian personnel will report long-term health problems as a likely result of exposure to toxins and particulates released by the fires. [Illnesses, 8/2/2000]