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An explosion from a pipeline in La Porte, Texas is seen from above on September 16, 2024.
"We have seen the flames get bigger and bigger with a huge amount of smoke," said one local organizer.
Note: This is a developing story. Please check back for possible updates...
Fire damage to a playground, an evacuation order for at least 350 homes, and another potential evacuation of an assisted living facility were among the hazards suffered by residents of La Porte, Texas on Monday after a fire erupted from an explosion at a pipeline in the Houston-area town.
Officials in nearby Deer Park confirmed the pipeline was owned by Energy Transfer, the company with a majority stake in the Dakota Access Pipeline which has sued Greenpeace for protests over the fossil fuel project. Local NBC News affiliate KPRC-TV said the chemical burning was Chemical Y Grade liquid natural gas.
KHOU, another local news affiliate, reported that about 4,000 homes were experiencing power outages, and the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council said it was working on a potential evacuation of a nursing home.
"We have seen the flames get bigger and bigger with a huge amount of smoke," said Shiv Srivastava, organizer and policy researcher with the Houston-area advocacy group Fenceline Watch, in a video posted to the social media platform X.
Srivastava noted that the site of the fire was close to "several schools including Deer Park Elementary and La Porte ISD schools as well."
"We are near a community right now," he added in a video as the blaze was visible in the background.
A shelter-in-place order was in effect for La Porte public schools as well as San Jacinto College.
A video posted by Chris Walker of Fox 7 Austin appeared to show a neighborhood filled with homes in the immediate vicinity of the flames.
"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," a La Porte resident named Geselle Melina Guerra told the Associated Press.
The public health and climate watchdog Food & Water Watch the incident offers the latest proof of what it already widely known: "Fossil fuel infrastructure is dangerous."
"We cannot keep living like this!" said the group.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Note: This is a developing story. Please check back for possible updates...
Fire damage to a playground, an evacuation order for at least 350 homes, and another potential evacuation of an assisted living facility were among the hazards suffered by residents of La Porte, Texas on Monday after a fire erupted from an explosion at a pipeline in the Houston-area town.
Officials in nearby Deer Park confirmed the pipeline was owned by Energy Transfer, the company with a majority stake in the Dakota Access Pipeline which has sued Greenpeace for protests over the fossil fuel project. Local NBC News affiliate KPRC-TV said the chemical burning was Chemical Y Grade liquid natural gas.
KHOU, another local news affiliate, reported that about 4,000 homes were experiencing power outages, and the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council said it was working on a potential evacuation of a nursing home.
"We have seen the flames get bigger and bigger with a huge amount of smoke," said Shiv Srivastava, organizer and policy researcher with the Houston-area advocacy group Fenceline Watch, in a video posted to the social media platform X.
Srivastava noted that the site of the fire was close to "several schools including Deer Park Elementary and La Porte ISD schools as well."
"We are near a community right now," he added in a video as the blaze was visible in the background.
A shelter-in-place order was in effect for La Porte public schools as well as San Jacinto College.
A video posted by Chris Walker of Fox 7 Austin appeared to show a neighborhood filled with homes in the immediate vicinity of the flames.
"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," a La Porte resident named Geselle Melina Guerra told the Associated Press.
The public health and climate watchdog Food & Water Watch the incident offers the latest proof of what it already widely known: "Fossil fuel infrastructure is dangerous."
"We cannot keep living like this!" said the group.
Note: This is a developing story. Please check back for possible updates...
Fire damage to a playground, an evacuation order for at least 350 homes, and another potential evacuation of an assisted living facility were among the hazards suffered by residents of La Porte, Texas on Monday after a fire erupted from an explosion at a pipeline in the Houston-area town.
Officials in nearby Deer Park confirmed the pipeline was owned by Energy Transfer, the company with a majority stake in the Dakota Access Pipeline which has sued Greenpeace for protests over the fossil fuel project. Local NBC News affiliate KPRC-TV said the chemical burning was Chemical Y Grade liquid natural gas.
KHOU, another local news affiliate, reported that about 4,000 homes were experiencing power outages, and the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council said it was working on a potential evacuation of a nursing home.
"We have seen the flames get bigger and bigger with a huge amount of smoke," said Shiv Srivastava, organizer and policy researcher with the Houston-area advocacy group Fenceline Watch, in a video posted to the social media platform X.
Srivastava noted that the site of the fire was close to "several schools including Deer Park Elementary and La Porte ISD schools as well."
"We are near a community right now," he added in a video as the blaze was visible in the background.
A shelter-in-place order was in effect for La Porte public schools as well as San Jacinto College.
A video posted by Chris Walker of Fox 7 Austin appeared to show a neighborhood filled with homes in the immediate vicinity of the flames.
"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," a La Porte resident named Geselle Melina Guerra told the Associated Press.
The public health and climate watchdog Food & Water Watch the incident offers the latest proof of what it already widely known: "Fossil fuel infrastructure is dangerous."
"We cannot keep living like this!" said the group.