Massive pipeline fire burning near Houston began after a vehicle struck a valve, officials say

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A towering flame gradually subsided Tuesday morning in the aftermath of a massive pipeline explosion after a vehicle drove through a fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said.

Deer Park officials said police and local FBI agents initiated investigations and found no preliminary reports that would suggest a coordinated or “terrorist” attack and that “this appears to be an isolated incident.”

The investigation included efforts to learn more about the driver of a vehicle that was incinerated by the pipeline explosion as flames scorched the ground across a wide radius, severed adjacent power transmission lines and ignited homes at a distance. Police did not provide any information about the person's condition.

An evacuation area included nearly 1,000 homes and initial shelter orders included schools.

Operators shut off the flow of natural gas liquids in the pipeline, but so much remained in the miles of tubing that firefighters could do nothing but watch and hose down adjacent homes.

Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. described intense heat from a fire that endured for more than 12 hours as ladder trucks showered houses from above.

"A lot of the house structures that are adjacent to that are still catching on fire even though we’re putting a lot of water on them,” Mouton said at an afternoon news conference. A spewing flame still lit up the sky at sunset Monday.

Firefighters initially were dispatched at 9:55 a.m., after an explosion at a valve station in Deer Park, adjacent to La Porte, rattled homes and businesses, including a Walmart. Deer Park officials said an SUV drove into the valve after going through a fence on the side of the Walmart parking lot.

At the news conference, officials said only one person, a firefighter, sustained a minor injury. Later, Deer Park spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said four people were injured. She didn’t provide details about the severity of the injuries.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement that 20 miles (32 kilometers) of pipeline between the two closed valves had to burn off before the fire would stop.

Anna Lewis, who was walking into the nearby Walmart when the explosion happened, said it sounded “like a bomb went off.” She said everyone inside was rushed to the back of the store and then taken across the street to a grocery store before being bussed to a community center.

“It scared me,” she said. “You really don’t know what to do when it’s happening.”

Geselle Melina Guerra said she and her boyfriend heard the explosion as they were having breakfast in their mobile home.

“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 Guerra, who lives within the evacuation area.

Guerra’s boyfriend, Jairo Sanchez, said they’re used to evacuations because they live close to other plants near the highway, but he hadn’t seen an explosion before in his 10 years living there.

“We just drove as far as we could because we didn’t know what was happening,” Sanchez said.

Houston, Texas’ largest city, is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight in the area, including some that have been deadly, raising recurring questions about the adequacy of industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.

Letting the fire burn out is better, from an environmental perspective, than trying to attack the flames with some kind of suppressing foam or liquid, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a petroleum engineering professor at the University of Houston.

“Otherwise it’s going to release a lot of volatile organics into the environment,” he said.

Still, there will undoubtedly be negative environmental consequences, including a release of soot, carbons and organic material, he said.

The pipeline’s owner, Dallas-based Energy Transfer, said air monitoring equipment was being set up near the plume of fire and smoke, which could be seen from at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) away at one point.

A statement from Harris County Pollution Control on Monday afternoon said no volatile organic compounds had been detected. The statement said particulate matter from the smoke was moderate and not an immediate risk to healthy people, although “sensitive populations may want to take precautions.” The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it was also monitoring the air.

Natural gas liquids are used primarily in the manufacturing of plastics and basic and intermediate chemicals, Krishnamoorti said.

The fire burned through nearby power lines, and the website PowerOutage.us said several thousand customers were without power at one point in Harris County.

Krishnamoorti said the area’s extensive pipeline infrastructure will have to be closely inspected for damage beyond the explosion site, though the fire “won’t be a major disrupter of supply chains.”

The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas in the state, said its safety inspectors were investigating.

Margaret Newman, who lives on the edge of the evacuation zone, said that when she heard the explosion she went out into her yard and could see the flame shooting above the trees. She lost electricity but has a generator to keep her home cool and planned to stay put.

This story has been updated to correct that the pipeline carries natural gas liquids, not liquified natural gas.

AP writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.

Residents watch the pipeline fire burning in La Porte, Texas, from South Meadow Drive and East Meadow Drive Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Firefighters respond to a pipeline fire Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A Clear Lake man watches the pipeline fire burning in La Porte, Texas, as he gives a ride to his friend who is a resident on E. Meadow Drive, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Meadow Way Drive residents Maddy Graham, right, and Ashley Cordova are self evacuating with cat, Mitzi, as the pipeline fire burns in the background Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A massive pipeline fire burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Police block off a highway as a large fire from a pipeline explosion burns near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

A pipeline with a giant plume of fire burns Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pipeline carrying natural gas liquids burns in a massive fire near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

A pipeline carrying natural gas liquids burns near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Firefighters protect a neighborhood from a fire in a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Firefighters take a break from battling a fire at a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Firefighters battle a blaze from a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas that burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pipeline with a giant plume of fire burns Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle 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)

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)

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — An NFL head coach eventually realizes if a rookie has the ‘it’ factor.

Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce knows the moment he saw it in tight end Brock Bowers.

“The day he walked in the door,” Pierce said Wednesday. “We knew we were getting a blue chipper. I mean, he did it day one at Georgia when he walked on campus. And he did it each and every game, each and every year.

“And he got here in rookie minicamp, and he got pads on at training camp ... then we slowed him down a little bit because he was pushing himself. And to be honest, I mean we knew what we got, just didn’t want to speak on it until he did it.”

Through the first two games of the season, he’s done it.

And it seems everyone except the shy 21-year-old from Napa, California is comfortable speaking on it.

“I could tell when he first showed up,” said wide receiver Davante Adams, who was part of a panel of veterans who spoke to the rookies when they first arrived in Las Vegas. “And I could just tell by the way he spoke and the way he was locked in, he didn’t really seem like he cared about anything other than football.

“You got those type of dudes that’s young, and they come in like that and just lock in and grow and learn from all the veteran players you can see something special in them.”

Asked how he was able to break the ice with someone whose character is stoic and reserved, Adams said he still isn’t sure his young teammate has thawed out.

"We still skating,” Adams said. “I don’t know if it's ever been fully broken.”

On the field, though, Bowers is scorching.

Bowers, who had nine catches for 98 yards in Sunday’s 26-23 come-from-behind win in Baltimore, is the first tight end in NFL history with at least five receptions and 50 receiving yards in each of his first two games.

Bowers’ 15 receptions and 156 yards the two games are the most for a rookie tight end since the merger. He also ranks second in the league in highest catch percentage (88.2%) on targets in the NFL this season, with a minimum of 15 targets, behind Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin (93.8%).

“I just kind of come and do my job, and I just feel like I go about my business,” a coy Bowers said in front of his locker, looking a bit shellshocked surrounded by reporters. “Whenever I’m in the building, I just kind of just focus on football and yeah, just getting after it.”

Bowers said his time at Georgia helped ease his transition from college to pro, and it's been a championship mentality and attention to detail that Pierce has been appreciative of during his first official season as head coach.

“He’s tough, he loves the game,” Pierce said. “He doesn’t care how he looks, how he talks — he just wants to play ball. And that fits our mentality.”

Bowers has a chance to continue his impressive start Sunday when the Raiders host Carolina in their home opener. The Panthers have allowed a league-tying sixth-highest receptions (11) and eighth-most yards (104) to tight ends this season.

“That dude’s like, been making plays from day one,” Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “To get him in game situations, to have the trust in him has really been easy. He’s earned it the whole time, and it’s really cool to have a guy like that on your team.”

INJURY REPORT: Defensive end Maxx Crosby (ankle), linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (knee), tackle Kolton Miller (shoulder), defensive end Tyree Wilson (knee), defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (knee) and safety Chris Smith (knee) were all limited in practice on Wednesday. Linebacker Divine Deablo (oblique/concussion) and cornerback Decamerion Richardson (hamstring) did not participate.

MORE MAXX: Crosby earned his fifth-career AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with six tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass defensed in Las Vegas’ 26-23 victory at Baltimore. His four tackles for loss are the most in a single game among AFC players this season.

The dateline of this story has been corrected to Henderson, Nev. instead of Las Vegas.

AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

FILE - Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) carries the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sept. 15, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)