One of the best measures of the oil boomlet around Douglas, Wyo., is the number of RVs parked at the Wyoming State Fairgrounds campground, the Daily Astorian reported.
The first year the campground was open to oil field workers in 2012, 30 RVs saw out the winter months. By this summer, the RV census had grown to the point that fairground supervisors had to ask more than 100 campers to move out temporarily to make room for the annual influx of state fair participants, rodeo cowboys and entertainers.
Shortly after the livestock barns were emptied and cowboys packed up, a stampede of fifth wheels descended on the campground.
“It was like a land rush. I don’t know how else to describe it. They were rolling in here faster than we could get them placed,” State Fair Director James Goodrich recalled recently.
Dea Dunphee replaces the tire on his truck after checking the brakes at the Wyoming State Fairgrounds in early October in Douglas. Dunphee, from Yakima, Washington, is living temporarily in his trailer at the fairgrounds while working in the energy field in Douglas.
Compared with increasing oil production in parts of North Dakota and Texas, the boom taking place around Douglas today is modest. But in this town of 6,400 people, the growing pains are everywhere.
For the full story, click here.
