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Oil boom remakes N. Dakota county with fastest growth in US

An oil well works at sunrise Aug. 25, 2021, in Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County. A drilling boom made McKenzie the fastest growing county in the U.S over the past decade, according to the 2020 census. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) J.T. Smith, back left, and Virginia Smith talk with their children James, front left, and Crystal, right, at the Watford City Assembly of God church, Aug. 25, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. The family moved to McKenzie County from Texas after J.T. Smith got a job in the North Dakota's booming oil fields. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Dana Amon finds the name of her stepfather who fought in World War II on a monument at Veterans Memorial Park, Aug. 25, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. Amon, who grew up in a double-wide trailer on a farm on the edge of the county seat, Watford City, remembers riding her horse across fields now dotted with tracts of modest housing lit up at night by the flares from nearby oil wells. “Our little town just blew up at the seams,” she said. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Cars move down Main Street in Watford City, N.D., Aug. 25, 2021, part of McKenzie County. A drilling boom made McKenzie the fastest growing county in the U.S over the past decade, according to the 2020 census. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Howdy Lawlar repairs a barbed wire fence on his farm, Aug. 25, 2021, in McKenzie County, N.D. Lawlar says a rush of newcomers who more than doubled the county's population over the past decade have become part of McKenzie's "extended family." (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Howdy Lawlar, right holds a steel post as Charlie Lewis, left prepares to use a Bobcat to push it into the ground as they repair a barbed wire fence on Lawlar's farm, Aug. 25, 2021, in McKenzie County, N.D. Lewis came to the county to work in the booming oil fields but now works as Lawlar's farmhand. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Pump jacks stand with apartments in the background Aug. 26, 2021, on the outskirts of Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County, the fastest-growing county in the U.S. That's according to new figures from the Census Bureau. ​(AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Yolanda Rojas talks in Los Saguaros, the restaurant she owns with her husband, Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. The couple saved enough money to open the restaurant in March 2020 — just as the pandemic arrived. The business was teetering on failure when Rojas reached out to the community on social media. People in Watford City rallied to help, regularly ordering takeout to keep the family afloat. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Students in the first grade run through a gymnasium at Fox Hills Elementary School, Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County. School enrollment tripled over the past decade and is expected to double again by 2030, as McKenzie County became the fastest growing county in the U.S. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Principal Brad Foss holds the door for students returning from recess at Fox Hills Elementary School, Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County, the fastest-growing county in the U.S. School enrollment tripled over the past decade and is expected to double again by 2030, as McKenzie County became the fastest growing county in the U.S. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Casandra Lugo, right, and Josefina Ornelas work in the Mexican restaurant Los Saguaros, Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County. A drilling boom made McKenzie the fastest growing county in the U.S over the past decade, according to the 2020 census. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Dana Amon speaks about trucks hauling crude oil through McKenzie County as she sits in front of the McKenzie Inn, Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. Amon, who grew up in a double-wide trailer on a farm on the edge of the county seat, Watford City, remembers riding her horse across fields now dotted with tracts of modest housing lit up at night by the flares from nearby oil wells. “Our little town just blew up at the seams,” she said. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) A housing development sits in Aug. 24, 2021, in Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County, the fastest-growing county in the U.S. That's according to new figures from the Census Bureau. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) A flare burns natural gas at an oil well Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D., part of McKenzie County, the fastest-growing county in the U.S. That's according to new figures from the Census Bureau. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) McKenzie County, N.D. is the fastest growing county in the nation.