Authorities evacuate area near Houston after pipeline explosion and fire

A massive fire at an oil pipeline outside Houston sent a massive flame billowing for hours Monday as authorities evacuated a neighborhood where some homes were ablaze.

The fire in the 20-inch pipeline carrying natural gas liquids must be left to burn out on its own, said Dallas-based Energy Transfer, the company that operates it. It said the flow of gas has been shut off but the remaining gas will likely continue to burn for several hours.

The fire began at 9:55 a.m. with an explosion that shook homes in Deer Park and La Porte, located about 25 miles southwest of downtown Houston.

“Suddenly I heard a loud explosion and saw something bright, like orange, from outside, beyond our back door,” said Geselle Melina Guerra, a 25-year-old La Porte resident.

She and her boyfriend live in a mobile home that is inside the evacuation zone. They were eating breakfast when they heard the explosion around 9:30 a.m. Guerra’s boyfriend, Jairo Sanchez, 26, woke his brother and they ran to their car.

“I was very nervous, walking around the room, not knowing what to do or what was happening. I thought maybe it was a plane that had crashed near our house,” Guerra said.

La Porte City spokesman Lee Woodward told KTRK-TV that authorities have asked occupants of nearby schools to stay where they are and have cordoned off the area.

At least one natural gas pipeline and one hazardous liquid pipeline pass through the area, according to geographic data from the Department of Transportation and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration.

Another pipeline runs diagonally through a 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 heart of the country’s petrochemical industry, with a large number of refineries, plants, gas and oil pipelines. Explosions and fires are common, including some that have been fatal.

The blasts have raised questions about the industry’s plans to protect the community and alleviate environmental impact.

KTRK video showed a park near the fire had sustained damage and firefighters were pouring water on homes near the flames. By midday, at least a couple of homes appeared to have caught fire and smoke was pouring from their roofs. Several businesses, including a Walmart store, were also nearby.

Sanchez said they are used to evacuations because they live near other petrochemical plants. But he said that in the 10 years he has lived there, he has never seen an explosion.

“We just got as far away as possible because we didn’t know what was happening,” Sanchez said, sitting in a car parked at a gas station.

Authorities have ordered an evacuation of the Brookglen neighborhood near the fire, Woodward said in an email.

“Please avoid the area and follow the instructions of authorities. More details will be released as they become available,” Woodward said.

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