BELLINGHAM, Wash. — It was a sunny summer day and the school year was nearly done for Wade King, who was preparing to become a fifth grader at Roosevelt Elementary School.
He went to Whatcom Falls Park to enjoy the weather and hang out with his friend and classmate Stephen Tsiorvas, both 10 years old.
In a flash, everything changed.
"When I woke up this morning, I thought, 25 years ago, we never imagined how our lives would never be the same," said Wade's mother, Mary.
Today, there is barely any trace of the horrors that happened along Whatcom Creek a quarter century ago, but the pain cannot be erased.
On June 10, 1999, Wade and Stephen were playing along the creek when over a quarter million gallons of gasoline ignited, killing the two 10-year-olds, along with 18-year-old Liam Wood, who was fishing upstream.
"No one could've dreamt of a scenario like that," said Mary.
The 30,000-foot-high plume of smoke blackened the skies over Whatcom County. It could be seen from British Columbia to Anacortes.
Wade would be 35 today. It's a lifetime lost, but Wade's parents are grateful for the short time they had with their little boy.
"I don't think you can live thinking of the what ifs," said Mary. "Wade had a full 10 years. Of course, it wasn't long enough. Every day is precious. Just wake up and say thank you for another day."
A pressure relief valve along the Olympic pipeline failed somewhere between Ferndale and Bellingham, resulting in a catastrophic rupture and sending gasoline spilling into the creek.
Back then, there were few, if any, regulations when it came to pipeline inspections. That has all changed and the three lives lost were not in vain.
"Now, there's strict inspections every five years on this pipeline and it it spells out what you have to do in that inspection to repair the pipe," said Carl Weimer of the Pipeline Safety Trust, an advocacy organization formed in the aftermath of the explosion.
To commemorate the explosion and honor the lives lost, a sign now sits along a trail at the park with the boys' names and pictures.
A reminder of how fragile and fleeting life can be.
"Live life and love your kids," said Frank King. "That is all you can do.
Remembrance ceremony
Hundreds of neighbors came together at Bellingham High School Monday night to commemorate the deadly Olympic Pipeline explosion in an emotional remembrance ceremony in Bellingham.
"It is part of this town's DNA, and we want to make sure that the story is never forgotten about," said Bill Caram, Executive Director of Pipeline Safety Trust.
Exactly 25 years later, dozens of people came together to pray over cherished items that belonged to the victims.
In addition to the lives lost, 26 acres of trees and vegetation also burned during the explosion and more than 100,000 fish were recorded dead.
"Everything in that creek died," said Caram.
Neighbors were infuriated.
"Within a couple of weeks of the explosion, they were gonna put the pipeline back in the ground and get it going again, even though they had no idea how it had failed. The citizens of Bellingham said no that’s not gonna happen," said Carl Weimer, Special Projects Advisor of Pipeline Safety Trust.
Bellingham locals held the Olympic Pipeline company accountable.
"They advocated for the formation of a national watchdog organization to-- over the pipeline industry and its regulators," said Caram.
Three pipeline executives did jail time for their roles in the explosion. The companies involved in the disaster were ordered to pay $112 million in fines.