Residents ordered to shelter after a Valero refinery explosion are now safe. The major fire is out, and no injuries are reported, according to officials.
PORT ARTHUR, Texas — An explosion and large plume of smoke at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur prompted officials to order west-side residents to shelter in place Monday, but the major fire was out by early Tuesday and the shelter-in-place order was lifted, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick announced.
“As of 3:28 a.m. the major fire at Valero was out,” Branick said, adding that air monitoring performed by Valero, the EPA, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and others “did not indicate exceedances of safe thresholds at this point.”
Branick, who spent the night at the incident command center, praised the response to the blaze — noting it happened to fall on his birthday.
“Well, that was certainly the most interesting way I’ve ever spent a birthday,” Branick said. “I was impressed by the well trained and highly skilled emergency response personnel of Valero. They understood the processes, products and procedures and they worked together under the incident command and control framework in a collaborative and effective way.”
The shelter-in-place order was lifted and Texas Highway 82 was reopened just after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, nearly 12 hours after the explosion, according to a message sent over the Southeast Texas Alerting Network. The shelter-in-place had covered the west side of Port Arthur from Stilwell West to South of 73, including Pleasure Island and Sabine Pass.
Two Port Arthur ISD campuses — Booker T. Washington Elementary and Abraham Lincoln Fine Arts Academy — had been set to close Tuesday, but after the shelter-in-place was lifted, the district announced both schools would open with a delayed start at 9 a.m. Buses ran on normal schedules, and no students were counted as tardy before 9 a.m., according to Port Arthur ISD. Classes at Sabine Pass School were canceled.
The road closures left bus-riding students stranded in Sabine Pass Monday evening, ultimately requiring the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit to ferry the children home by boat. Port Arthur Mayor Charlotte Moses had said the group of children was stuck in Sabine Pass because buses had not been able to get through the road closures.
Valero confirmed the incident in a statement to 12News: “Currently, there is a fire in a unit at Valero’s Port Arthur, Texas refinery. All personnel have been accounted for. Valero’s emergency response team is responding and coordinating with local authorities. As always, the safety of our workers is our top priority.”
Interim Port Arthur Fire Chief Louie Havens said two engines were initially sent to the refinery and a hazmat team was deployed to the site. Havens confirmed no injuries or deaths were reported. Beaumont Fire Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office assisted Port Arthur Fire Department.
Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said the incident may have involved a heater unit. As a precaution, Jefferson County officials closed State Highways 82 and 87.
Port Arthur Mayor Charlotte Moses said a group of children was stuck in Sabine Pass because buses had not been able to get through the road closures. Sabine Pass ISD was closed Tuesday due to the incident.
Branick said Jefferson County will work with Valero on an after-action review “to better prepare for and respond to any emergencies that might occur in our community,” and said the cause of the explosion should be better understood in the coming weeks.
“My appreciation to the many first responders on scene, most importantly our frontline firefighters,” Branick said.
Witnesses across the Mid-County area reported hearing a loud boom that rattled car windows earlier Monday.
This is a developing story. We will update with more information as it becomes available.