Dozens arrested in Washington state for blocking oil train deliveries

About 150 people spent the night in tents and sleeping bags on the tracks near two refineries in northwest Washington, according to BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas.

A spokeswoman for the protesters, Emily Johnston, who participated in a blockade last year of the Seattle harbor to protest Shell Oil’s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic, said the success of protests like the one in Anacortes can be seen in the way they inspire people to speak out about climate change.

The railroad spur serves the nearby Shell and Tesoro oil refineries, and also is a transit line for animal feed and other products.

Protesters in kayaks, canoes, on bikes and on foot also took part in demonstrations near Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle, to demand action on climate and a transition away from fossil fuels.