(Reuters) -A natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline owned by Energy Transfer caught fire in La Porte, Texas, on Monday morning, the company said in a statement, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses and prompting a widespread evacuation.
Videos posted by a local news station early in the day showed a massive flame near streets and businesses. The line had been isolated by midday for residual product to burn off, Energy Transfer said, adding that it did not have a timeline for how long that process would take.
First responders by mid-afternoon estimated it would take a few more hours to extinguish the fire, city officials said. The evacuation area, which at one point had been a half-mile radius, by then was reduced and included 941 addresses, they added.
The fire occurred at a valve station on a 20-inch (50.8-cm) pipeline used to carry NGLs, according to Energy Transfer. NGLs can be used as inputs for petrochemical plants or burned for space heating and cooking, among other uses.
The company also said it was aware of reports that an unknown passenger car entered its right-of-way and struck the valve location.
The City of La Porte said the cause was undetermined and under investigation.
“A member of the Pasadena Fire Department sustained an injury this morning on an issue adjacent to the main issue,” city officials added.
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, said it was investigating the fire.
It said the incident occurred in a pipeline corridor, and that other pipeline operators in the area had been notified of the incident and were set to ensure the safety of their systems.
Over 5,000 CenterPoint Energy customers were without power shortly after the incident, according to a posting on the company’s website. That number fell to around 1,600 by midday.
“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,” the company said.
A nearby Walmart store was evacuated and closed following the incident. Students attending schools near the scene of the fire were safe and sheltering in place, the La Porte Independent School District said.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver, Laila Kearney in New York, and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy)
