Kuwait Oil Fires

One of the worst environmental disasters in history occurred in Kuwait following the Gulf I War in 1991.

The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by Iraqi military forces setting fire to a reported about 700 oil wells along with an unspecified number of oil filled low-lying areas, such as oil lakes and fire trenches, as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 due to the advances of US-led coalition forces in the Arabian Gulf War. The fires were started in January and February 1991, and the first well fires were extinguished in early April 1991, with the last well capped on November 6, 1991.