The Royal Dutch Shell company might want to consider placing a wind turbine where its iconic Shell station sign is located in Bayfield.
Strong winds nearly knocked over the estimated 80-foot tall gas station sign Monday on U.S. Highway 160.
The Upper Pine River Fire Protection District spent several hours helping secure the sign, which had been knocked off center by about 20 degrees, said Fire Chief Bruce Evans.
“Everyone was upset and thought it would fall over,” Evans said.
The owners of the property called local crane companies, but it was too late for anyone to come out. So crews with the fire department worked with a local welder to fix the problem.
Evans said it took about four hours to set the fiberglass sign right. Crews had to close the access road (East Colorado Drive) while lifts were brought in and the welder secured the sign.
The job was finished about 11 p.m., Evans said.
“Everyone was driving by and looking at it,” he said. “We didn’t want the wind to grab it and take it down.”
Crews with Upper Pine were busy earlier in the day fighting a small fire started by a lightning strike west of Middle Mountain Road in Vallecito. Evans said the fire sent up a lot of smoke but was dealt with quickly.
“Everything was handled fine,” he said.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
