A pipeline explosion resulted in a massive fire in La Porte, Texas, on Monday, forcing emergency responders to evacuate a portion of the Houston suburb as flames shot “hundreds of feet into the air.”
According to The Associated Press, Monday’s explosion involved a 20-inch pipeline carrying natural gas liquids, which is operated by Energy Transfer, a company based in Dallas, Texas.
In a statement released on Monday, Energy Transfer said, “We experienced an incident this morning in La Porte, Texas, at a valve station along Spencer Highway for a 20′ natural gas liquids line that resulted in a fire.”
At the time of the company’s statement, Energy Transfer explained that there were no reports of injuries and that the LaPorte Fire Department was on the scene of the explosion and had evacuated all of the businesses and homes located within a half mile from the pipeline explosion. The Associated Press noted that the only injury reported as of Monday afternoon was a firefighter who suffered a minor injury.
“The line has been isolated so that the residual product in the line can safely burn itself out,” the company added. “We have no timeline at this point on how long that process will take, but we are working closely with local authorities.”
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Energy Transfer noted that air monitoring equipment was being installed in the area impacted by the fire and announced that additional details would be revealed “as they become available.”
In its statement, Energy Transfer explained that it was “aware of early reports” that suggested a car had “struck the value location.” However, the company did not provide additional details regarding the incident.
According to The Associated Press, firefighters were dispatched at roughly 9:55 a.m. after an explosion was reported in La Porte, which is approximately 25 miles outside of downtown Houston.
Lee Woodward, a La Porte city spokesperson, told KTRK-TV that schools in the area surrounding the explosion were told to shelter in place while law enforcement officials blocked off the area near the pipeline fire. Woodward urged local residents to “avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction.”
The Associated Press reported that the pipeline fire consumed high-voltage power lines. According to PowerOutage.us, Monday’s explosion resulted in several thousand residents losing power in Harris County.
A video of the pipeline fire was shared by Raws Alerts on X, formerly Twitter. “The explosion released large amounts of natural gas, with flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air,” Raws Alerts tweeted. “While the cause remains unclear, officials are urging the public to avoid the area as it is still an active and dangerous scene. Thick black smoke and towering flames can be seen from miles away.”
