Pipeline explodes, spreads fire in Houston suburb, forcing evacuations
LA PORTE, Texas – A pipeline explosion near Houston erupted in a towering flame over neighborhoods for hours on Monday, forcing evacuations and shelter orders and melting playground equipment as firefighters struggled to keep nearby homes from burning.
Operators shut off the flow of natural gas liquids, but so much remained in the 20-inch (51-centimeter) pipeline that firefighters could do nothing but watch and hose down adjacent homes until it burns itself out. That could take hours, perhaps into Tuesday, Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. said.
"The fire, it's very hot, so a lot of the house structures that are adjacent to that are still catching on fire even though we're putting a lot of water on them," Mouton said.
Local authorities would not speculate about the cause of the fire and what role a burned car near the source of the flame may have had. The pipeline's owner, Dallas-based Energy Transfer, said in a statement that it was "aware of early reports" that a car had struck some valve equipment but did not offer more details, including the origin of those reports.
Video images from KTRK-TV showed a park near the fire had been damaged and firefighters pouring water on adjacent homes. There are also several businesses nearby, including a Walmart.
Officials ordered residents in the Brookglen neighborhood area near the fire to evacuate, Lee Woodward, a La Porte city spokesperson said in an email.
"Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement directions. Further details will be released as available," Woodward said.
Energy Transfer said in a statement that air monitoring equipment was being set up in the area.
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.
There are several power lines near the fire. The website PowerOutage.us says that there are nearly 4,700 customers without power in Harris County.
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."
Letting the fire burn out is better, from an environmental perspective, than trying to attack the flames with some kind of suppressing foam or liquid, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a petroleum engineering professor at the University of Houston.
"Otherwise it's going to release a lot of volatile organics into the environment," he said.
In addition to damage closest to the flame, the area's extensive pipeline infrastructure will also have to be closely inspected and monitored for damage, Krishnamoorti said.
"All of those are going to have to be checked and monitored," he said, but "in the grand scheme of things," the fire "won't be a major disrupter of supply chains."
