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Small Fire Forces Richland Nuclear Plant Offline by Staff Tri-City Herald, June 29, 2009

The Columbia Generating Station remained offline Monday after a fire forced operators to manually shut down the Richland nuclear energy plant Friday, an Energy Northwest official said Monday.

According to the Energy Northwest official, dripping oil sparked a small fire in insulation surrounding the plant's turbine system Friday night. Operators used water and fire extinguishers to put out the flames, which were estimated to be about 1 to 2 inches tall.

The fire caused no injuries.

The plant likely will remain offline throughout the next few days while the area around the fire is inspected.