La Porte, Texas explosion: Evacuations ordered after gas pipeline explodes

An evacuation order has been issued after a pipeline caught fire in a Texas town.

Footage from the fire in La Porte shows a huge jet of fire shooting into the air, sending thick, black smoke into the air.

According to a local reporter, there are power outages in the area and a stay-at-home order has been issued.

According to the La Porte Emergency Management Office, the fire started shortly before 10 a.m. At the time of writing, no injuries have been reported.

Due to the fire, the nearby Spencer Highway is closed in both directions and adjacent roads are closed to traffic.

According to a local reporter, there have been power outages in the area and shelter-in-place orders have been issued.

The Brookglen neighborhood has also been evacuated and San Jacinto College has issued a stay-at-home order.

In a social media post, the college said: “SJC Central remains in place under shelter. No fires on campus.

“Emergency personnel are on scene. A shelter will remain in place for the San Jacinto College Central Campus until the all clear is given.”

According to property records reviewed by ABC13the fire takes place on or near a CenterPoint site.

The company said in a statement: “CenterPoint Energy is closely monitoring the incident on Spencer Highway in LaPorte. The incident is not related to the company’s natural gas operations or equipment.

“We are also working with emergency services. Safety is paramount, the public should avoid this area until further notice from local emergency services.

“As soon as it is safe to do so, our electrical crews will move into the area to assess damage to our transmission and distribution cables, towers and equipment and restore service to affected customers as safely and quickly as possible.”

According to the energy company’s outage tracker, 5,277 customers are currently without power.

This is a current news item.