Pipeline fire outside Houston dies down but continues to burn; some evacuation orders remain
LA PORTE, Texas – A pipeline fire that erupted in a suburban Houston neighborhood burned for a second day Tuesday with still no definitive word on when the blaze would finally go out, when nearby residents may be able to return home or why a car drove through a fence and hit a valve before the destructive explosion.
Although the fire was getting smaller, the disruptions caused by the Monday morning explosion in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood left some locals increasingly weary.
On Tuesday, people could be seen returning to their homes to get clothes and other items before quickly leaving again.
"We literally walked out with the clothes on our backs, the pets, and just left the neighborhood with no idea where we were going," Kristina Reff said. "That was frustrating."
Over 24 hours after the blast — which shot towering flames like a blowtorch above the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte — authorities have provided few details about the circumstances leading up to the explosion.
"Progress has been made as first responder crews worked through the night. The fire is significantly smaller," according to a statement from Deer Park. The city said Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based owner of the pipeline, expects the fire to burn itself out later Tuesday.
City officials said police and FBI agents found no preliminary evidence to suggest a coordinated or terrorist attack, and said it "appears to be an isolated incident," but they haven't offered any details on how they came to that conclusion.
Investigators were trying to learn more about the driver of the sport utility vehicle. The car was incinerated by the explosion, which scorched the ground across a wide radius, severed nearby power transmission lines, melted playground equipment and ignited nearby homes.
Over 24 hours after the explosion, the driver still had not been publicly identified.
The valve, which appears to have been protected by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, is located within a long grassy corridor where high-voltage power lines run. Below the ground run several pipelines. On one side of the corridor is a neighborhood of homes; on the other is a Walmart. Officials say the driver went through a fence alongside the Walmart parking lot and across the grassy right-of-way before striking the valve.
Officials have not given any information on the condition of the driver.
Deer Park spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said four people were injured, but provided no details about the seriousness of the injuries. Authorities said one firefighter sustained minor injuries.
The roaring fire shot orange flame and then black smoke hundreds of feet into the air, prompting authorities to evacuate nearly 1,000 homes and order people in nearby schools to shelter in place.
By Tuesday afternoon that number was down to just over 400.
"The fire is still burning, but the good news is that the pressure within the pipeline is continuously dropping, which means we are getting closer to the fire going out," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement.
Operators shut off the flow of natural gas liquids after the explosion rattled homes and businesses in Deer Park and the adjacent suburb of La Porte shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday. But Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said 20 miles (32 kilometers) of pipeline stretched between the two closed valves, and all the chemicals inside had to burn off before the fire would stop.
Robert Hall, a senior advisor at the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust, said it's not surprising that it's taken more than a day for the material to stop burning.
"You're talking about 20-inch pipelines and miles between valves, so it takes a long time to burn down," Hall said.
The fire was burning so hot that all firefighters could do was use ladder trucks to hose down nearby houses that began smoking in the radiant heat.
Houston, Texas' largest city, is the nation's petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight, and some have been deadly, raising recurring questions about industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.
Hall, who previously oversaw pipeline and hazardous materials investigations for the National Transportation Safety Board, said there are few regulations that govern the location of pipelines near homes and businesses.
"That becomes a very local issue, community by community," said Hall, who added that some jurisdictions require bollards — sturdy pipes filled with concrete — to prevent vehicles from crashing into sensitive infrastructure.
Energy Transfer did not immediately respond Tuesday to a question about what safety precautions were in place near their valve.
Hall said regulations that were put in place in 2022 aimed at reducing deaths and environmental damage from pipeline ruptures were geared toward gas lines, not those carrying liquids, and would not have applied to the Texas pipeline. He added that many new safety regulations that have been put in place do not apply retroactively to pipelines that have already been constructed.
Anna Lewis, who was walking into the Walmart when the explosion happened, said it sounded "like a bomb went off." She said everyone inside was rushed to the back of the store and then taken across the street to a grocery store before being bussed to a community center.
"It scared me," she said. "You really don't know what to do when it's happening."
Geselle Melina Guerra heard the explosion as she ate breakfast with her boyfriend in their mobile home.
"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 Guerra, who lives within the evacuation area.
Both Energy Transfer and Harris County Pollution Control are conducting air monitoring in the area and have found no health issues, according to Deer Park officials.
Energy Transfer said in a statement Monday that air monitoring equipment was being set up in the area. The company did not immediately respond Tuesday to a question about what safety precautions were in place near their valve.
Hall said regulations that were put in place in 2022 aimed at reducing deaths and environmental damage from pipeline ruptures were geared toward gas lines, not those carrying liquids, and would not have applied to the Texas pipeline. He added that many new safety regulations that have been put in place do not apply retroactively to pipelines that have already been constructed.
Anna Lewis, who was walking into the Walmart when the explosion happened, said it sounded "like a bomb went off." She said everyone inside was rushed to the back of the store and then taken across the street to a grocery store before being bussed to a community center.
"It scared me," she said. "You really don't know what to do when it's happening."
The only injury reported so far was to a firefighter who sustained a minor injury, officials said.
Geselle Melina Guerra said she and her boyfriend heard an explosion at around 9:30 a.m. as they were having breakfast in their mobile home.
"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 Guerra, 25, who lives within the evacuation area.
Her boyfriend woke up his brother and they ran to their car.
"I was just freaking out, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was happening," Guerra said. "I thought maybe it was an airplane that had crashed down by our house."
The Railroad Commission of Texas said its pipeline safety inspectors are investigating the fire, and working with state and local emergency responders at the scene.
CenterPoint Energy said it is monitoring the fire, which is near Spencer Highway in LaPorte. The company said the fire "is unrelated to the company's natural gas operations or equipment."
"We are also cooperating with first responders. Putting safety first, the public should avoid this area until further notice from local emergency officials. When it is safe to do so, our electric crews will go into the area to assess the damage to our transmission and distribution power lines, poles and equipment and begin restoring service to impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible."