A natural gas pipeline owned by Energy Transfer erupted in flames the morning of Sept. 16 in La Porte, Texas.
The incident started at a valve station along Spencer Highway for a 20-inch natural-gas liquids line, according to a statement from Energy Transfer.
The cause of the fire was under investigation as of early Monday afternoon, said Jerry Mouton Jr., mayor of neighboring Deer Park, Texas, during a news conference.
Early reports indicate that a car may have struck the valve location, Energy Transfer said.
One firefighter was injured while battling the fire, with no other injuries reported, said Kaitlyn Bluejacket, public relations and marketing administrator for the city of Deer Park.
The LaPorte Fire Department evacuated all homes and businesses within a half mile of the incident site. Emergency responders isolated the line to allow the residual product to burn itself out.
Some of the house structures nearby were catching on fire due to the extreme heat generated by the blaze, Mouton said.
Responders were in the process of setting up air-monitoring equipment in the area, according to Energy Transfer.
La Porte, a community in the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, is home to several petrochemical plants. The region has experienced several accidents over the years, including a toxic release from a DuPont plant in 2014 that resulted in four deaths.
DuPont was ordered to pay millions in penalties and put on probation for the accident at the plant, which permanently closed in 2016.
