Hundreds of homes near Houston still under evacuation orders as pipeline fire burns for second day

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A pipeline fire that erupted in a suburban Houston neighborhood burned throughout a second day and into the night Tuesday with still no definitive word on when the blaze would finally go out, when nearby residents may be able to return home or why a car drove through a fence and hit a valve before the destructive explosion.

Although the fire was getting smaller, the disruptions caused by the Monday morning explosion in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood left some locals increasingly weary. On Tuesday, people could be seen returning to their homes to get clothes and other items before quickly leaving again.

“We literally walked out with the clothes on our backs, the pets, and just left the neighborhood with no idea where we were going,” Kristina Reff said. “That was frustrating.”

Over 36 hours after the blast — which shot towering flames like a blowtorch above the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte — authorities have provided few details about the circumstances leading up to the explosion.

Investigators said it happened after the driver of a sport utility vehicle went through a fence near the Walmart and struck an above-ground valve. As of Tuesday evening, authorities had not still not identified the driver or said what happened to them.

Deer Park officials have said police and FBI agents found no preliminary evidence to suggest the explosion of the pipeline, which carried natural gas liquids, was a coordinated or terrorist attack. In a statement Monday night, the city said it “appears to be an isolated incident” but officials have not provided details on how they came to that conclusion.

The car was incinerated by the explosion, which scorched the ground across a wide radius, severed power transmission lines, melted playground equipment and ignited some homes.

The valve, which appears to have been protected by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, is located within a long grassy field where high-voltage power lines run. Several pipelines run underground.

Authorities evacuated nearly 1,000 homes at one point and ordered people in nearby schools to shelter in place. By Tuesday afternoon that number was down to just over 400.

“The fire is still burning, but the good news is that the pressure within the pipeline is continuously dropping, which means we are getting closer to the fire going out,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement.

Operators shut off the flow after the explosion, but Hidalgo has said that 20 miles (32 kilometers) of pipeline stretched between the two closed valves and the chemicals inside had to burn off before the fire would stop.

Robert Hall, a senior advisor at the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust, said it’s not surprising that it’s taken more than a day for the material to stop burning.

“You’re talking about 20-inch pipelines and miles between valves, so it takes a long time to burn down,” Hall said.

On Tuesday, the Texas Railroad Commission that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry said its inspectors only will enter the site after it is deemed safe by emergency authorities.

Houston 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, and some have been deadly, raising recurring questions about industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.

Hall, who previously oversaw pipeline and hazardous materials investigations for the National Transportation Safety Board, said there are few regulations that govern the location of pipelines near homes and businesses.

“That becomes a very local issue, community by community,” Hall said, adding that some jurisdictions require bollards — sturdy pipes filled with concrete — to prevent vehicles from crashing into sensitive infrastructure.

Hidalgo said Tuesday that Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based owner of the pipeline, has said it was working to isolate parts of the pipeline closest to the fire by clamping it on each side.

Energy Transfer did not immediately respond to a question about what safety precautions were in place near the valve.

Hall said regulations from 2022 aimed at reducing deaths and environmental damage from ruptures were geared toward gas lines, not those carrying liquids, and would not have applied to this pipeline. He added that many new safety regulations that have been put in place do not apply retroactively to pre-existing pipelines.

Both Energy Transfer and Harris County Pollution Control were conducting air monitoring in the area and have found no health issues, according to Deer Park officials.

Since leaving home, Reff and her family have been staying in a hotel room paid for by Energy Transfer. But they were eager to return.

“It would be nice to be in our own beds,” she said.

Murphy reported from Oklahoma City. AP writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, Ken Miller in Oklahoma City and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed.

A massive pipeline fire burns after a vehicle drove through a fence along a parking lot and struck an above-ground valve near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

FILE - A massive pipeline fire burns after a vehicle drove through a fence along a parking lot and struck an above-ground valve 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 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 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 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)

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)

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)

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

A massive pipeline fire burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton 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)

Emergency vehicles line Spencer Highway as firefighters respond to a massive burning pipeline fire near Spencer Highway and Summerton Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/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 pipeline with a giant plume of fire burns Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs water toward a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

PARIS (AP) — It took a huge blunder to gift Paris Saint-Germain victory in the first Champions League match of its post-galactico era.

PSG scraped a 1-0 home win over tournament newcomer Girona on Wednesday with a stoppage-time goal, which came when goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga let a left-wing cross from Nuno Mendes trickle under his hands and through his legs.

For the first time in more than a decade, PSG began its Champions League campaign without at least one star player, known in soccer as a “galactico.”

But after the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi came and went without winning Europe's elite club competition, PSG started this campaign with a new identity based on more French players and greater teamwork.

It was also PSG’s first Champions League game without Mbappé for seven years after France’s star joined Real Madrid, scoring for his new club on Tuesday.

Mbappé was reproached by his critics for not tracking back or closing down enough when he played up front for PSG.

Yet PSG coach Luis Enrique could he heard shouting when his players failed to close down properly and, at one point, Girona kept the ball for 2 1/2 minutes with PSG's ball-watching players chasing aimlessly.

“They defended well and we struggled to create clear-cut chances,” Enrique said.

After 34 minutes, whistles could be heard from the crowd at a subdued Parc des Princes. Aside from half-chances from midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery and Marco Asensio, who went off injured late in the first half with an apparent hamstring injury, there was scant attacking play.

“All the teams have things to improve," Zaïre-Emery said. “We have new players coming into the team who need to settle in."

Yet this was even more the case for a Girona team that lost several key players from last season, including striker Artem Dovbyk, winger Savinho and right back Yan Couto.

Girona defender Ladislav Krejčí made a brilliant tackle on Ousmane Dembélé after the PSG attacker went clean through on goal in the first half.

But with moments left, Gazzaniga's howler spared PSG.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players leave the pitch after they won the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)