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A chemical plant fire in rural Texas sent black smoke into the sky on Wednesday as local authorities closed a highway and ordered residents to take shelter for several hours.
Residents within a one-mile radius of the chemical plant fire in Shepherd, along with those in surrounding communities, were asked to shelter in place for about five hours on Wednesday. The order was lifted early Wednesday afternoon. Shepherd is located about 60 miles northeast of Houston in a mainly rural area.
The explosion took place at Sound Resource Solutions, a company that recycles and repackages various chemicals, according to officials in San Jacinto County. A preliminary investigation revealed that an employee noticed a container leaking chemicals and attempted to use a forklift to lift the container, resulting in an ignition. The investigation is ongoing.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said calls about the explosion started coming in shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
One employee suffered minor burns and was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition, Capers reported. The chemicals involved in the fire were identified as flammable liquids, including diesel and turpentine.
The fire was contained by Wednesday afternoon, thanks to the efforts of San Jacinto County Emergency Management personnel. The solvents produced at the plant are used in glue and paint remover, according to the Polk County Office of Emergency Management, which also warned that these chemicals can cause skin and eye irritation.
Shortly after the fire, videos captured a large plume of smoke emerging from the facility. Local authorities told residents to shelter in place and turn off their HVAC systems, but those warnings were lifted later in the day.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will monitor the air through Wednesday evening and assist with the clean-up, according to agency spokesperson Ryan Vise.
Even after the fire was brought under control, local fire crews would remain on site to monitor for possible flare-ups. Of the 37 employees, 19 were working at the time of the explosion, according to Sheriff Greg Capers.
A private school with 31 children near the site of the explosion was safely evacuated and the students were later reunited with their parents, Capers said.
Geoff Harfield, president of Sound Resource Solutions, expressed gratitude that all employees were safe and said that the injured employee was “doing good” and would return home by Wednesday evening. He assured that the company would cooperate with environmental regulators to ensure proper remediation work.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to figure out the incident itself,” Harfield said. “We’ll deliver answers, not speculation.”
U.S. Highway 59 remained closed in both directions between Shepherd and Livingston on Wednesday afternoon. It was expected to reopen in the evening, officials said.
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Dupuy reported from New York.
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