How The Kuwait Oil Fires Were Extinguished | Our History

The incredible story of how the Kuwait oil fires were extinguished after the gulf war in 1991. Subscribe to Our History: Early in 1991, the oil fields of Kuwait were blazing, set alight as Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army retreated from Kuwait. With 700 wells on fire and dense, black smoke covering the region, experts were calling it the world’s largest and most expensive environmental disaster. Texans Red Adair, Boots and Coots and Wild Well Control along with Canadian team, Safety Boss, set out to cap 700 wells. Although other teams came in later in the year from countries such as Russia, Romania, China and Hungary, the original four companies accounted for 87% of all the wells capped. The film shows the seemingly insurmountable problems they initially faced and how they extinguished the fires in a remarkably short space of time. This film was first broadcast: 26 Nov 1991