SUV hits valve; pipeline explodes

TEXAS DEER PARK, Texas — A massive pipeline explosion that sent a towering flame over neighborhoods near Houston for hours on Monday began after a vehicle drove through a fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said. Deer Park officials said police and local FBI agents found no evidence of "terroristic activity" and said it appears to be an isolated incident. The ongoing investigation includes an effort to identify the driver.

The blaze forced evacuations and shelter orders in the area, including at schools. Operators shut off the flow of natural gas liquids in the pipeline, but so much remained in the miles of pipe that firefighters could do nothing but watch and hose down adjacent homes until it burned 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 at an afternoon news conference. 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, including a Walmart. Deer Park officials said an SUV drove into the valve after going through a fence on the side of the Walmart parking lot.

Nearly 1,000 homes were in the evacuation area, said Lee Woodward, a spokesperson for La Porte. At the news conference, officials said only one person, a firefighter, sustained a minor injury. Later, Deer Park spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said four people were injured.

She didn't provide details. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement that 20 miles of pipeline between the two closed valves must burn off before the fire stops. Anna Lewis, who was walking into the nearby Walmart when the explosion happened, said it sounded "like a bomb went off.

" "It scared me," she said. "You really don't know what to do when it's happening." Geselle Melina Guerra said she and her boyfriend heard the explosion as they were having breakfast in their mobile home.

"All of a sudden we hear this loud bang and then I see something bright, like orange, coming from our back door that's outside," said Guerra, who lives within the evacuation area. Get local news delivered to your inbox!.