Flames shot hundreds of feet in the air Saturday after a bulldozer hit a natural gas pipeline.

The operator of the bulldozer was killed.

Firefighters doused the fire within 45 minutes, said Gerry Luce, a Laramie County sheriff’s spokesman. The operator’s identity won’t be released until relatives have been notified.

The flames could be seen from several miles away, authorities said.

The accident occurred southwest of Cheyenne about two miles north of the Colorado line in a rural area with no structures around, Luce said. The bulldozer operator and other workers were building a road for a new natural gas line, Luce said.

All the other workers were accounted for, he said.