Fire near North Dakota pipeline protests
is under investigation
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[October 31, 2016]
By Josh Morgan
CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) - Authorities
were looking into the cause of a blaze that burned through about 400
acres near where Native American leaders are protesting against a North
Dakota oil pipeline they say threatens water and sacred lands, officials
said on Sunday.
The blaze on private property in rural Morton County was extinguished
with the help of helicopters that dropped water on it. Authorities have
not given any indication on whether the fire was deliberately set or if
it was related to the protests taking place a few miles away.
Native American leaders vowed on Saturday to protest through the winter
against the oil pipeline, adding they are weighing lawsuits over police
treatment of arrested protesters.
More than 400 protesters have been arrested since Aug. 10 in rallies
that have attracted support from celebrities including Mark Ruffalo,
Shailene Woodley, Susan Sarandon and Chris Hemsworth.
The planned 1,172-mile (1,885-km) path of the pipeline, the project of a
group of companies led by Energy Transfer Partners LP, would skirt the
Standing Rock reservation by about a half mile. But the Standing Rock
tribe and environmental activists say it threatens water supplies as
well as sacred Native American sites.
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![](../images/103116pics/news_f12.jpg)
A vehicle drives next to a series of pipes at a Dakota Access
Construction site near the town of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S.,
October 30, 2016. REUTERS/Josh Morgan
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
Supporters say the pipeline, the construction of which was halted by
the federal government in September, offers the fastest and most
direct route for bringing Bakken shale oil from North Dakota to U.S.
Gulf Coast refineries.
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Alan Crosby)
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