A pipeline fire sparked by an SUV crash has burned for more than 24 hours and prompted evacuations in a Houston suburb

By Nicole Chavez, Chris Boyette, Jeff Winter, Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN

(CNN) — A pipeline fire that began after an SUV struck a valve for a liquid natural gas pipeline near Houston continues burning Tuesday after damaging houses, melting vehicles, and leading to the evacuation of 100 homes, officials said.

The huge plume of flames appeared to have decreased in size Tuesday as the fire burns itself out, which “is the safest way to manage the incident,” said pipeline owner Energy Transfer.

“We are seeing a significant decrease in pressure within the line, and the situation is steadily improving,” the La Porte, Texas, Office of Emergency Management said in a statement Tuesday.

Authorities and Energy Transfer said Tuesday that no air quality issues have been reported. Harris County hazmat officials are expected to conduct an investigation once the flames have diminished, officials said.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a Facebook post that once the fire is extinguished, first responders will need to confirm the pipeline is clean and that no more natural gas can reignite. Residents will likely not be allowed to return to their homes until the immediate area cools down, she added.

The 20-inch pipeline caught fire just before 10 a.m. Monday in La Porte, about 25 miles southeast of Houston, authorities in La Porte and nearby Deer Park said.

An SUV drove through a fence bordering the parking lot of a nearby Walmart store and struck an above-ground pipeline valve, according to Deer Park officials. An initial investigation suggests it was not “terroristic activity,” they noted.

Neither the driver nor the vehicle were identified by officials.

Deborah Gamel, 69, was in her home with her husband Carl, 63, directly across from the playground next to the pipeline when the fire erupted. Within minutes of the fire starting, “the heat inside the house was so intense it was like being in an oven,” Gamel said.

By the time Carl managed to get outside to their vehicle, their garage door had melted, as had the tailgate and back lights of his truck, she said. He managed to drive it around to their backyard to pick up his wife and drive them to safety.

An estimated 100 homes within a half-mile radius are impacted by the pipeline fire, according to Jamie Galloway, emergency services director for the city of Deer Park.

Galloway estimates four or five homes have been damaged from the radiant heat and access is cut off to about 100 houses because they’re so close to the flames. The families who live in the homes have evacuated, he added.

Firefighters are monitoring the fire and doing everything they can to keep the fire from spreading to more homes, Galloway said. Four first responders, all believed to be firefighters, suffered heat-related injuries and were treated at the scene, he added.

For hours, dozens of firefighters poured water into nearby homes and a park that caught fire. Officials said the pipeline had been isolated but as for the fire, “it will be a while before it goes down.”

Energy Transfer, in a statement to CNN, said there was an incident at one of its valve stations.

“The line has been isolated so that the residual product in the line can safely burn itself out. We have no timeline at this point on how long that process will take, but we are working closely with local authorities,” the company said.

On top of the evacuations, the fire has led to power outages and closures in the area, Deer Park Police Assistant Chief Frank Hart said.

CenterPoint Energy, a Houston-based utility company, showed several outages in the area Monday morning. The company said it was monitoring the incident, which it noted was “unrelated to the company’s natural gas operations or equipment.”

“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,” the company said in a statement to CNN.

Some schools in the area, including the central campus of San Jacinto College, issued a shelter-in-place order because of the fire and later canceled classes and activities.

Geselle Melina Guerra, a 25-year-old who lives in a mobile home within the evacuation area, told The Associated Press she was having breakfast when she heard the explosion.

“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.

“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 added.

CNN’s Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.

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