LONDON (AP) — King Charles III attended church near the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland for prayers and reflection in remembrance of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday, the second anniversary of her death.
Charles, 75, and his wife Camilla have been spending the summer in the Scottish Highlands, where the late monarch died at 96 years old on September 8, 2022.
Charles and Camilla were seen arriving for the Sunday morning service at the tiny granite church of Crathie Kirk, the royal family's place of worship when they stay in nearby Balmoral Castle. Charles' great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, laid the foundation stone for the church, and Elizabeth was a regular attendee.
Charles ascended the throne two years ago Sunday when his mother died in her Platinum Jubilee year after reigning for a record seven decades.
His second year as sovereign was marked by two significant health blows — both Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, announced they were diagnosed with unspecified types of cancer earlier this year.
The monarch has gradually returned to public duties, undertaking dozens of visits, meetings and events. On Saturday Charles, dressed in a tartan kilt, and Camilla were seen laughing and in good spirits as they visited the Braemar Gathering Highland Games, an annual event featuring bagpiping, Highland dancing and traditional games including tug-of-war.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, for a Sunday church service, Sunday Sept. 8, 2024. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)
LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — A massive pipeline fire in suburban Houston was shooting a giant plume of fire into the air for more than two hours on Monday as first-responders evacuated a surrounding neighborhood where some homes have caught fire.
The fire began at 9:55 a.m. with an explosion that rattled nearby homes in Deer Park and La Porte, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Houston, long the energy capital of the U.S.
“All of a sudden we hear this loud bang and then I see something bright, like orange, coming from our back door that’s outside,” said Geselle Melina Guerra, 25, a La Porte resident. She and her boyfriend live in a mobile home within the evacuation area. They were having breakfast when they heard the explosion close to 9:30 a.m. Guerra’s boyfriend, Jairo Sanchez, 26, woke up his brother and they ran to their car.
“I was just freaking out, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was happening. I thought maybe it was an airplane that had crashed down by our house,” Guerra said.
La Porte city spokesperson Lee Woodward told KTRK-TV that they don’t yet know what flows through the pipeline or how it will be shut down. People in nearby schools were told to shelter in place as law enforcement blocked off a wide area.
It wasn't immediately clear what companies operate the infrastructure involved. At least one gas transmission pipeline and one hazardous liquid pipeline run through the area on fire, according to U.S. Department of Transportation geographic data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Another gas transmission pipeline cuts diagonally through a nearby residential neighborhood along Spencer Highway, which runs through the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries, plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight to residents in Texas’ largest city, including some that have been deadly. The blasts have raised recurring questions about the adequacy of the industry’s plans to protect the public and the impacts of environmental damage.
Video images from KTRK showed a park near the fire had been damaged and firefighters pouring water on adjacent homes. By noon, at least a couple of homes appeared to have caught fire, with smoke pouring from their roofs. There are also several businesses nearby, including a Walmart.
Sanchez said they’re used to evacuations because they live close to other plants near the highway. But in the 10 years Sanchez has lived there, he had not witnessed an explosion.
“We just drove as far as we could because we didn’t know what was happening,” Sanchez said from a parked car at a gas station near his college.
Officials have ordered residents in the Brookglen neighborhood area near the fire to evacuate, Woodward said in an email.
“Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction. Further details will be released as available,” Woodward said.
There are several high voltage power lines near the fire. The website PowerOutage.us said several thousand customers were without power in Harris County.
CenterPoint Energy said it is monitoring the fire, which is near Spencer Highway in LaPorte. The company said the fire “is unrelated to the company’s natural gas operations or equipment.”
“We are also cooperating with first responders. Putting safety first, the public should avoid this area until further notice from local emergency officials. When it is safe to do so, our electric crews will go into the area to assess the damage to our transmission and distribution power lines, poles and equipment and begin restoring service to impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible.”
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AP reporter Christopher L. Keller contributed to this report from Albuquerque, New Mexico
A pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, sparks grass fires and burns power poles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, forcing people in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate. (KTRK via AP)
Firefighters work on the scene of a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KTRK via AP)
A burned vehicle sits near a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KTRK via AP)
A pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, sparks grass fires and burns power poles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, forcing people in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate. (KTRK via AP)
