LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — A massive pipeline fire sent a towering column of flames over the Houston suburbs for hours Monday as first responders evacuated a surrounding neighborhood and tried to prevent other nearby homes from catching fire.
The fire involving a 20-inch pipeline carrying natural gas liquids is expected to self-extinguish, according to its operator, Dallas-based Energy Transfer. The company said the gas flow has been stopped, but residual materials inside could burn for hours.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 9:55 a.m. after an explosion rocked adjacent homes and businesses in Deer Park and La Porte, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Houston, the U.S. energy capital. The plume of smoke was visible at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and a chemical smell hung in the air nearby. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured.
Geselle Melina Guerra said she and her boyfriend heard an explosion around 9:30 a.m. while they were eating breakfast in their camper. “All of a sudden we heard a loud bang, and then I saw something bright, like orange, coming from our back door that’s outside,” said Guerra, 25, who lives in the evacuation zone.
Her boyfriend woke her brother up and they ran to their car.
“I was completely panicked, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was going on,” Guerra said. “I thought maybe it was a plane that had crashed near our house.”
La Porte city spokesman Lee Woodward told KTRK-TV that people at nearby schools were ordered to shelter in place as law enforcement blocked off a large area.
At San Jacinto College, which closed its campus after the explosion, among those gathered was Evan Wyman, who had been informed after calling police that his dog Baxter had been rescued from his home, which is in the evacuated neighborhood.
“I just know my dog was saved,” Wyman said.
At least one natural gas pipeline and one for hazardous liquids run through the fire zone, according to geographic data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Another pipeline runs diagonally through a nearby residential neighborhood along Spencer Highway, which runs through the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland, home to a cluster of refineries, factories and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight for residents of Texas’ largest city, some of which have been fatal. The explosions have raised recurring questions about the adequacy of the industry’s plans to protect the public and the impacts of the disaster. environmental damage.
Video footage from KTRK showed a park near the fire was damaged and firefighters were pouring water on adjacent homes. By noon, at least two homes appeared to be on fire, with smoke billowing from their roofs. There are also several businesses nearby, including a Walmart.
Sanchez said the workers were used to evacuations because they lived near other factories, near the highway. But since he’s been living there, he’s never witnessed a single explosion.
“We just drove as far as we could because we didn’t know what was happening,” Sanchez said from a car parked at a gas station near his university.
Authorities ordered residents in the Brookglen neighborhood near the fire to evacuate, Woodward said in an email.
“Please avoid the area and follow the instructions of law enforcement. Further details will be released as they become available,” Woodward said.
There are several high-voltage power lines near the fire. The site PowerOutage.us said several thousand customers were without power in Harris County.
CenterPoint Energy said it is monitoring the fire, which is located near Spencer Highway in LaPorte. The company said the fire “is not related to the company’s natural gas operations or equipment.”
The company said that when it is safe to do so, its crews will assess damage to its transmission and distribution power lines, poles and equipment and begin restoring power to affected customers.
__
This story has been corrected; the pipeline carries “natural gas liquids,” not “liquefied natural gas,” according to pipeline operator Energy Transfer.
__
AP reporters Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.
