Two explosions along a stretch of sour gas pipeline near the B.C.-Alberta border had a number of concerned residents demanding answers from RCMP and Encana in a town hall meeting Friday night.
Several Dawson Creek residents piled into the meeting wanting to know who is responsible for the explosions and what is being done to prevent future attacks.
"I don't know if they have any clues or leads or nothing, but I do know one thing, it's a scary situation and I don't like it," said Eric Kuenzl whose family has lived in the region since 1939.
Kuenzl questions Encana's decision to put a nearby school on lockdown to ensure air was clear of deadly gas following the first explosion.
"I believe when you have a sitation like this you put them on a bus and you haul them (out), you don't even bring them home," he said.
The sour gas carried in the pipelines carry a trace amount of hydrogen sulphide which is toxic and could be lethal.
"The school was never in any danger," said Brian Lieverse a spokesperson from Encana who says the school was being used as an evacuation centre.
RCMP believe the blasts are acts of vandalism and are not terrorism related.
Extra security has been brought in on the ground and helicopters are also being used by Encana to search for anything out of the ordinary.
Police explosives experts examined the second blast crater Saturday to try and determine what type of explosives were used and where they came from.
Security and terrorism expert Alan Bell said the blast sites suggest the perpetrators used a crude, low-level explosive device, which was not relatively powerful. But he said the explosions raise questions about the security of the nation's pipelines.
"It's probably a localized issue, where a certain group of people or an individual decided to try and slow down the development of oil and gas in the area," Bell told Canada AM on Friday.
"Pipelines run through isolated parts of Canada and other parts of the world. It's very difficult to put up any kind of surveillance technology ... it makes us very vulnerable (to terrorism)," he said.
Pipeline workers discovered the latest explosion site on Thursday. The explosion appears to be related to another pipeline blast in the area earlier this month. The first incident only dented the pipeline, but the second blast cut into the pipeline, which company officials said was quickly sealed.
Investigators are now looking into a link between the explosions and a suspicious a letter sent to local media just before the first blast. It told the companies to cease production and leave the area, but did not contain a specific threat.
"We will no longer negotiate with terrorists which you are as you keep endangering our families with crazy expansion of deadly gas wells in our home lands," said the anonymous letter.
Police have said they don't have any suspects yet, but they do believe the people responsible for the blasts are local.
With files from Bill Fortier and CTV.ca
