PUNTA GORDA MASSIVE EXPLOSION: few minutes ago in 3 teenagers found dead in PUNTA after fire breaks out in farm land police identified …..
A massive pipeline fire burning for hours Monday near Houston began after vehicle struck an above-ground valve after driving through a fence, officials said.
Officials in Deer Park said their police and local FBI agents have found no evidence of “terroristic activity.” They said it also appears to be an isolated incident.
The investigation is ongoing and includes an effort to identify the driver.
The pipeline explosion 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.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury, the only one reported so far.
Firefighters were dispatched at 9:55 a.m., after an explosion at a valve station in Deer Park and right next to La Porte rattled adjacent homes and businesses. Nearly 1,000 homes are in the evacuation area, said Lee Woodward, a spokesperson for La Porte