StingRay
08-20-2004, 04:53 AM
Natural Gas Inferno Burns Into Night
Underground Facility Stores Natural Gas Products
UPDATED: 5:48 p.m. CDT August 19, 2004
HOUSTON -- An underground storage facility caught fire Thursday morning, igniting an inferno that burned throughout the day and into the evening, officials told Local 2.
Authorities said the explosion occurred at Duke Energy's Moss Bluff gas storage facility two miles outside Chambers County on F.M. 563, about 40 miles northeast of Houston, at 4 a.m. It shot flames 200 feet into the air.
Liberty County Sheriff's Department Capt. Bill Tidwell said two other storage tanks at the facility are not threatened, and crews decided to let the gas burn.
"Natural gas is burning, but it will dissipate," said Danny Gibbs, a spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy. "There should be no reason for any concerns environmentally or for people's safety."
Gibbs said he did not know how long the gas would burn, but pointed out that experts in putting out such fires were at the scene.
"Natural gas is a very clean-burning fuel. There should be no health concerns from the plume that is emanating from the fire," Gibbs said.
Fire officials from Liberty and Chambers counties reported to the scene, but were not able to get close to the fire because of its heat. As of 5 p.m., fire officials had not been able to fight the fire with water, and the blaze was the same intensity as when it began, authorities said.
Liberty County officials said they asked about 20 families within a one-mile radius of the natural gas facility to leave the area. Residents beyond a one-mile radius of the plant were asked to stay in their homes.
"The first thought that went through my mind was -- a plane was crashing. We heard a pop, then we heard a loud roaring that sounded like a jet engine," said Gloria Smith, an evacuated resident. "We saw the woods were on fire and then my husband said, 'Get dressed and get out.'"
It's something the Smiths have done before.
"I thought, 'Here we go again,'" Smith said. "We slipped on clothes, grabbed my purse and left."
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0819/3665570_200X150.jpg
The Smiths took shelter at their church, Calvary Baptist Church.
"We open the doors for anyone that could come here," Smith said.
Residents are not expected to return home Thursday night.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials ruled the explosion accidental. However, the cause has not been determined.
"The aim right now is not to put the fire out, but to cool it off enough and reduce the volume of fire," Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Clay Kennelly said, so that experts can get close enough to the well to set up a strategy to attack the fire.
Highways near the facility along F.M. 563 at the Liberty-Chambers counties' border were shut down after the explosion.
One person inside the facility at the time of the blast was able to escape, authorities said.
No injuries were reported.
Smoke could be seen as far away as Interstate 10 and the Trinity River, witnesses told Local 2.
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0819/3665574_200X150.jpg
According to officials, the facility provides producers and shippers with 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage. Duke Energy said that is about a tenth of the amount of natural gas used every day in the United States.
Moss Bluff is a sparsely populated area about 40 miles northeast of Houston. The area is dotted with manmade caverns inside salt domes, which are the world's largest storage site for explosive hydrocarbons.
One underground gas leak in 1980 forced 72 families from their homes in nearby Mont Belvieu for almost five months.
****UPDATE-STILL BURNING WILDLY THIS MORNING. EVACUATION HAS INCREASED TO A THREE MILE RADIUS. RESIDENTS REPORT ASH COVERING THEIR HOMES AND CARS.
Underground Facility Stores Natural Gas Products
UPDATED: 5:48 p.m. CDT August 19, 2004
HOUSTON -- An underground storage facility caught fire Thursday morning, igniting an inferno that burned throughout the day and into the evening, officials told Local 2.
Authorities said the explosion occurred at Duke Energy's Moss Bluff gas storage facility two miles outside Chambers County on F.M. 563, about 40 miles northeast of Houston, at 4 a.m. It shot flames 200 feet into the air.
Liberty County Sheriff's Department Capt. Bill Tidwell said two other storage tanks at the facility are not threatened, and crews decided to let the gas burn.
"Natural gas is burning, but it will dissipate," said Danny Gibbs, a spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy. "There should be no reason for any concerns environmentally or for people's safety."
Gibbs said he did not know how long the gas would burn, but pointed out that experts in putting out such fires were at the scene.
"Natural gas is a very clean-burning fuel. There should be no health concerns from the plume that is emanating from the fire," Gibbs said.
Fire officials from Liberty and Chambers counties reported to the scene, but were not able to get close to the fire because of its heat. As of 5 p.m., fire officials had not been able to fight the fire with water, and the blaze was the same intensity as when it began, authorities said.
Liberty County officials said they asked about 20 families within a one-mile radius of the natural gas facility to leave the area. Residents beyond a one-mile radius of the plant were asked to stay in their homes.
"The first thought that went through my mind was -- a plane was crashing. We heard a pop, then we heard a loud roaring that sounded like a jet engine," said Gloria Smith, an evacuated resident. "We saw the woods were on fire and then my husband said, 'Get dressed and get out.'"
It's something the Smiths have done before.
"I thought, 'Here we go again,'" Smith said. "We slipped on clothes, grabbed my purse and left."
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0819/3665570_200X150.jpg
The Smiths took shelter at their church, Calvary Baptist Church.
"We open the doors for anyone that could come here," Smith said.
Residents are not expected to return home Thursday night.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials ruled the explosion accidental. However, the cause has not been determined.
"The aim right now is not to put the fire out, but to cool it off enough and reduce the volume of fire," Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Clay Kennelly said, so that experts can get close enough to the well to set up a strategy to attack the fire.
Highways near the facility along F.M. 563 at the Liberty-Chambers counties' border were shut down after the explosion.
One person inside the facility at the time of the blast was able to escape, authorities said.
No injuries were reported.
Smoke could be seen as far away as Interstate 10 and the Trinity River, witnesses told Local 2.
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0819/3665574_200X150.jpg
According to officials, the facility provides producers and shippers with 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage. Duke Energy said that is about a tenth of the amount of natural gas used every day in the United States.
Moss Bluff is a sparsely populated area about 40 miles northeast of Houston. The area is dotted with manmade caverns inside salt domes, which are the world's largest storage site for explosive hydrocarbons.
One underground gas leak in 1980 forced 72 families from their homes in nearby Mont Belvieu for almost five months.
****UPDATE-STILL BURNING WILDLY THIS MORNING. EVACUATION HAS INCREASED TO A THREE MILE RADIUS. RESIDENTS REPORT ASH COVERING THEIR HOMES AND CARS.