A massive gas pipeline fire in suburban Houston sent a giant plume of fire into the air for several hours Monday as first responders evacuated a surrounding neighborhood where some homes caught fire.
The fire involves a 20-inch (51 cm) diameter pipeline carrying “natural gas liquids.” It is expected to self-extinguish, according to its operator, Dallas-based Energy Transfer, which said the gas flow has been cut off.
Firefighters were dispatched at 9:55 a.m. after an explosion rocked nearby homes in Deer Park and La Porte, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Houston, which has long been the energy capital of the United States.
“All of a sudden we hear this loud bang, and then I see something bright, like orange, coming from our back door that’s outside,” said Geselle Melina Guerra, 25, a La Porte resident. She and her boyfriend live in a mobile home in the evacuation zone. They were having breakfast when they heard the explosion around 9:30 a.m.
M’s boyfriendme Guerra, Jairo Sanchez, 26, woke his brother and they ran to their car.
“I was panicking, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was going on. I thought maybe it was a plane that had crashed near our house,” Guerra said.
Authorities have ordered residents in the Brookglen neighborhood near the fire to evacuate, La Porte spokeswoman Lee Woodward said in an email. “Please avoid the area and follow the instructions of law enforcement. More details will be released as they become available,” she said.
Several high-voltage power lines are near the fire. The website PowerOutage.us said several thousand customers were without power in Harris County.
Woodward told KTRK-TV that the city does not know to what extent the facility would be closed.
Recurring incidents
People in nearby schools were asked to shelter in place as law enforcement blocked off a large area.
At least one natural gas pipeline and one hazardous liquids pipeline run through the fire zone, according to U.S. Department of Transportation geographic data. Another pipeline runs diagonally through a nearby residential neighborhood along the Spencer Freeway, which runs through the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Houston is the petrochemical heartland of the United States, home to a cluster of refineries and factories, as well as thousands of miles of pipelines.
Explosions and fires are a recurring theme for residents of Texas’ largest city, often raising questions about the adequacy of industry plans to protect the public and the environment.
Two houses caught fire
Video footage from KTRK-TV 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. Several businesses are nearby, including a Walmart.
Jairo Sanchez said he and his family were used to evacuations because they live near factories near the highway. But in the 10 years he had lived there, he had never witnessed an explosion.
“We just drove as far as we could because we didn’t know what was going on,” said Mr. Sanchez, who was in a car parked at a gas station near his university.
with Christopher L. Keller (Associated Press) in Albuquerque, New Mexico