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More data has emerged on many fronts. One, the extent of damage to water supplies has become clearer, and also the threat of associated damage like earthquakes. Protesters in Youngstown Ohio recently chained themselves to fences to try and stop more wastewater injection into wells there, because on New Years Eve it triggered a whole swarm of earthquakes.

The paragraph above is extracted from the website below: https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/5062-Bill-McKibben-China-should-rethink-gas-fracking

According to the Oxford Dictionaries online, the word "fence" refers to "A barrier, railing, or other upright structure, typically of wood or wire, enclosing an area of ground to prevent or control access or escape." (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fence) Nonetheless, it remains confusing for me to understand.

Does it mean the "fences surrounding the wells there" or "lines formed by protesters as they chained themselves one another and thus looked like fences"?

Could someone please tell me? Thanks a lot.

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Just going from the definition of fence you give, there is room to see ambiguity here. However, there are clues that make it clear that they are referring to fences that were already there.

1) Word choices. That they chose "chained themselves to fences" indicates there were fences to chain themselves to. If they had meant otherwise they could have worded it as:

Chained themselves together to form fences
Chained themselves together to create a human fence

2) Human fences are unlikely to have gates:

Ron Shalom, 22, was charged Monday with criminal trespassing and obstruction of official business at a deep-injection well site near Youngstown, OH, according to an ABC Channel 5 report. Shalom chained himself to a gate near the well, the report said.

Potomac Environmentalist Arrested In Ohio For Chaining Self To Fence

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    There's also the fact that "Human wall" would be a much more popular idiom if that's what they meant.
    – candied_orange
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 10:18
  • Impressive! You have done me a great favour. I cannot thank you enough for your specific and reasonable explanations. Besides, never would I have expected to read the news during that period of time. Great!
    – Jarl
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 10:23
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They are referring to a literal fence as you mention in your definition, presumably near or around the wells in question. By attaching themselves to the fence, the protesters are either preventing access or otherwise getting in the way, so it effectively prevents the wastewater injection so long as the protesters are chained to the fence.

It's possible the protesters have created a "human fence" blocking the site, but they are attached to an actual fence anchored to the ground, which makes them a lot more difficult to remove.

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