Evacuations Ordered in La Porte as Natural Gas Liquid Pipeline Fire Burns for Hours

A large fire at a natural gas liquid pipeline in La Porte prompted evacuation orders on Monday, and officials said the blaze was still burning more than three hours after the first reports and could take hours longer to die down.

The La Porte Fire Department was sent to the 8700 block of Spencer Highway at about 9:55 a.m. Helicopter footage showed several houses and a burned vehicle near the scene. The fire had not been contained nearly two hours after alerts first went out. Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton said at a press conference that it could take several more hours to diminish, and that its cause was under investigation. "It's way too early to speculate," he said.

One firefighter is being treated for minor injuries, and no other injuries had been reported. Mouton said grass fires sparked by residual heat have been contained. "Once it is safe, we will let people back in," he said.

The Railroad Commission of Texas said its pipeline safety inspectors are investigating the fire on the Energy Transfer line and will work with state and local emergency responders. Because the fire occurred in a pipeline corridor, the commission is notifying other operators there and asking what steps they are taking to ensure safety. Energy Transfer has shut down the affected section of pipeline.

Cassidy Lamb, a spokesperson for Energy Transfer, said the line has been isolated so the product remaining inside can burn off safely. She said the company has no timeline for how long that will take. Lamb added that the company has seen early reports that an unknown passenger car entered its right-of-way and struck the valve location. Air monitoring equipment was being set up in the area, she said.

A spokesperson for the La Porte Office of Emergency Management said residents between Luella and Canada roads evacuated, while those on Spencer and Freemont were urged to go west. The Deer Park Office of Emergency Management said the area around Walmart and H-E-B was blocked to traffic, and nearby residents were likely to be evacuated because of power loss.

Anna Ritter-Lewis, a La Porte resident, had just walked into the Walmart eye doctor with a friend when the explosion occurred. Staff led everyone out the back and across East Street to the H-E-B, she said, and evacuees were then taken to the Jimmy Burke center in Deer Park. "They would not allow us to get our vehicles or anything," she said.

Schools in the area took precautions. San Jacinto College students were told to shelter in place until an all-clear, though the college said no fire was on campus. The central campus is closed for the rest of Monday, with classes and activities expected to resume Tuesday morning. At La Porte ISD's Heritage Elementary, which has more than 500 students, a modified shelter-in-place kept children indoors and canceled outdoor activities. Spokesperson Adam Holland said safety and security are the top priority and that the students are safe. Because some students from other campuses live in the evacuation zone, the district could not bus them home and was contacting parents to arrange pickup. Deer Park ISD did not shelter in place but canceled outdoor activities for the rest of the day and is monitoring the fire.

Officials said a unified command has been set up, with Deer Park handling the west side and La Porte the east, and a mobile command post is at East Boulevard and Spencer Highway. HC Pollution Control is on scene. La Porte officials said Energy Transfer is setting up a claims process and providing assistance to those affected. Reunification sites have been established, including the SPORT Center at 1302 S. Broadway, and Faithbridge Church at 4711 Center Street in Deer Park is serving as a shelter. Evacuees with animals are advised to contact the city's animal shelter.