The fire is burning out of control near Spencer Highway at East Boulevard. The Brookglen neighborhood between Luella and Canada is being evacuated. Avoid the area.
LA PORTE, Texas — Crews are responding to a fire at a pipeline in the Deer Park area, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
According to the City of La Porte, the large fire is burning near the Brookglen neighborhood at Spencer Highway near East Boulevard. This is also near a Walmart and H-E-B.
The fire department is recommending an evacuation between Luella and Canada in the Brookglen neighborhood, the La Porte OEM said.
Flames from the pipeline fire ignited a grass fire but firefighters appear to have it under control. They are spraying nearby homes to try and protect them.
“There are about 350 homes that are very near the fire point and so there’s an evacuation order in place,” Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said.
San Jacinto College and nearby schools in La Porte ISD and Deer Park ISD are sheltering in place. La Porte ISD said all students are safe.
Garcia said no injuries have been reported.
Some power poles have also caught fire and hundreds of customers are without power. CenterPoint says over 4,000 customers are impacted. Emergency responders are helping an assisted living community that doesn’t have power to keep them safe and evacuate if necessary, according to Garcia.
Before firefighters can tackle the pipeline fire, they have to determine which pipeline it is so the fuel can be shut off because there are several pipelines in the area. No word yet on what is burning from the pipeline.
Hazmat teams are also heading to the area.
Spencer Highway is closed in both directions and so are nearby roads. Everyone should avoid the area.
According to KHOU 11 Meteorologist Pat Cavlin, winds are light so the flames are just straight up in the sky along with the smoke. This should help contain the flames.
This is a map of where the fire is happening.
