Firefighters in a Houston suburb were battling a massive pipeline fire that sparked grass fires and burned power poles on Monday, forcing people in the surrounding area to evacuate.
The fire began at 9.55am local time in La Porte, about 25 miles southwest of Houston, Texas.
Operator Dallas-based Energy Transfer said the gas flow to the 20-inch pipeline was shut off but the fire will have to burn itself out.
The company said it will take hours more before residual natural gas liquids flow out of the pipeline.
“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 Geselle Melina Guerra, 25, a La Porte resident. She and her boyfriend live in a mobile home within the evacuation area. They were having breakfast when they heard the explosion.
“I was just freaking out, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was happening. I thought maybe it was an airplane that had crashed down by our house,” Ms Guerra said.
La Porte city secretary Lee Woodward told KTRK-TV that they do not yet know what flows through the pipeline or how it will be shut down.
Video images from KTRK showed a park near the fire that had been damaged and firefighters pouring water on adjacent homes that caught fire.
Officials have ordered residents in the Brookglen neighbourhood area near the fire to evacuate, Mr Woodward said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
There are several power lines near the fire. The website PowerOutage.us says that there are nearly 4,700 customers without power in Harris County.
CenterPoint Energy said it is monitoring the fire, which is near Spencer Highway in LaPorte. The company said the fire “is unrelated to the company’s natural gas operations or equipment”.
“We are also co-operating with first responders,” a spokesperson said. “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.”
