Houston Pipeline Explodes and Is on Fire

A pipeline in Houston, Texas, exploded on Monday morning, resulting in widespread fires and evacuations.
In a post on Facebook, the La Porte Office of Emergency Management announced that fire officials received reports of the incident at 9:55 a.m. local time for a “fire in the 8700 block of Spencer Highway.”
“An evacuation has been ordered for between Spencer Highway and Fairmont Parkway between Luella and Canada Road, the Brookglen neighborhood area. Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction. Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction,” the post said.
Lee Woodward, a La Porte city spokesperson, told the Associated Press that some residents in the Brookglen neighborhood were being ordered to evacuate due to the fire.
“Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction. Further details will be released as available,” Woodward said.
The Deer Park Police Department also reported the fire on social media, saying, “Residents near the fire are likely to be evacuated due to power loss.”
“Expect major disruptions around Spencer Highway and East Boulevard. Avoid the area!” The Deer Park Police Department said. “Fire Status: Unified Command is established with Deer Park handling the west side and La Porte handling the east. A mobile command post is set up at East Blvd. and Spencer Hwy. HC Pollution Control is on scene.”
Several videos and photos of the fire were shared on social media, such as one user who shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “Some sort of massive fire happening in what I think is Deer Park (east of Houston).”
WSVN 7 News also shared a video on social media writing, “BREAKING: Firefighters are currently fighting a pipeline fire in suburban Houston, which has caused grass fires and damaged a nearby park. An evacuation has been ordered for people living nearby.”
The cause of the pipeline fire was not immediately clear, but local officials were expected to release further information.
CenterPoint Energy said that it was monitoring the fire, which caused some power outages in the area. The company also noted that 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,” CenterPoint Energy said in a statement.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
Update 9/16/24, 1:23 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.