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| By: Jamie Nash | 08/28/2004 |
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| Diary
of an inferno |
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An explosion woke the small town of Moss Bluff in the pre-dawn hours of last Thursday, August 19. An underground cavern storing six billion cubic feet of natural gas ignited, sending flames one hundred feet into the air and lighting the night sky for miles. |
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The cavern
was number one of three gas-filled salt domes, located underground on FM 563.
Duke Energy Gas Transmission owns the storage facility and has an operator on
duty around the clock.
According to Danny Gibbs, Director of Public Affairs for Duke Energy Gas
Transmission, "The operator had made his standard rounds at about 3:45 a.m.
and everything was as it should be."
At approximately 4:15 a.m. the operator notified Duke Energy officials of an
explosion and fire.
Day two:
The situation in Moss Bluff seemed to be improving. Despite a large explosion,
there had been no loss of life and no injuries. Many families had returned to
their homes.
Duke Energy had contracted with the world renowned Boots & Coots, reputedly
the best industrial firefighters in the business.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The ground shook and pictures and fixtures fell
off of walls. The flames belching from the salt dome cavern now reached a
horrifying one thousand feet high, turning night to day in Moss Bluff. The sound
was deafening.
Dennis Ivy, with Texas Department of Transportation was posted near the facility
when the re-ignition occurred.
"I was at the first barricade this morning at 1:30." It was loud -- so
loud you couldn't hear each other no matter what."
Gibbs explained. "An above ground valving mechanism on top of the cavern
collapsed. At 1:30, the fire went out for fifteen to thirty seconds from extreme
heat, so flames shooting toward the ground went straight up in the air with a
greater volume of gas fueling the fire. At this time, a Christmas tree - which
is a tall stem with a set of valves on each side, was gone. (Then), the gas
reignited with a loud 'whoosh', not an explosion."
For the second night in a row, Moss Bluff residents found themselves evacuating
voluntarily before there was an order in place to do so.
Gibbs maintained that there was little possibility the other caverns could
ignite as people assumed had happened upon hearing the re-ignition of cavern
one. He says people may think the caverns are closer together than they actually
are.
"The three caverns are widely dispersed across six hundred-forty
acres," Gibbs said.
Clay Kennelly, Regional Liaison Officer for the Emergency Management Service of
the Texas Department of Public Safety said, "To put the fire out now would
be the worst thing we could do because there would still be gas."
Kennelly says there could still be minor incidents, but nothing of any
consequence.
"It's a production facility with above ground piping. Some lines may have
product left in them and we might have a line or two pop off. It won't last
long, because there's no flow of gas."
The displaced residents of Moss Bluff occupied most of the rooms of eight motels
in Liberty, Dayton, and Baytown, at the expense of Duke Energy. Also on Friday,
Duke Energy Foundation announced its donation of $10,000 to the Greater Houston
Chapter of the Red Cross "for evacuation efforts relating to the fire at
Moss Bluff."
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three: Friday night and Saturday morning came and went without another incident. At 5:00 p.m., Officials onsite announced an improvement in the situation. Mark Hainley, Chambers County Emergency Management Coordinator, siad, "The fire itself is getting smaller. It's not going anywhere. It's going straight up." He also said the evacuated area was expected to decrease from a three-mile radius to a one-mile radius by the next morning. The news was positive for every displaced family except one, whose home is on the Liberty County side of the facility within the one-mile radius. Emergency management officials recommended that Moss Bluff residents look for damage immediately upon retuning to their homes, and document their findings with photographs. Careful and thorough documentation of losses will make the claims process easier and quicker for all parties involved. According to Leroy Hanel, Liberty County Emergency Management Coordinator, approximately 270 Liberty County residents live within a three-mile radius of the storage facility. Hanel emphasized that if anyone felt uncomfortable about returning, Duke Energy would continue to provide accommodations. When questions were raised about livestock and pets in the area, Hanel said they had not been forgotten. "We're escorting people in to the residences that have animals, so they are being taken care of." Also onsite Saturday was Tom O'Connor, president of Duke Energy Gas Transmission. O'Connor stressed that no one was being forced to return to their home. "I'd also encourage anybody who has any questions to call (832)746-2047 and a representative of Duke Energy will be available to answer your questions," O'Connor said. O'Connor said that Boots & Coots had initiated the preparation work for capping the well. When asked about the time factor, O'Connor said the water line could be completed as early as the next day (Sunday), but he stopped short of any predictions or promises. "The number one item that we have to deal with is to get our experts into the site, take a look at the well head, and I think we'll know a lot more when we get to that point." The operator was thrown from his chair by the blast, but was not injured, and quickly completed the required procedures. He isolated the burning cavern from the rest of the facility and notified his superiors of the explosion. Apparently, he then jumped into his truck and drove through the locked front gate to escape under the glow of the massive one hundred foot torch created by the burning gas. Emergency crews from several agencies responded immediately to secure the area. Gibbs said at that time, "Duke Energy is working cooperatively with a number of entities, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Railroad Commission - every agency you can think of is represented." A safe perimeter was determined and residents were notified. According to Gibbs, "About twenty families in close proximity voluntarily evacuated." Around noon on Thursday, the Department of Public Safety deemed the area safe, and residents were allowed to return. Gibbs offered apologies to the families forced to flee their homes Thursday morning. "We sincerely apologize to all of those who were impacted. We appreciate their patience and apologize for the inconvenience" He also reassured the community that the air would not be contaminated. "One thing I really want to stress is that natural gas is a very clean burning fossil fuel. People shouldn't be unduly concerned. The gas is dissipating into the atmosphere." When asked about the cost of the incident, Gibbs said, "It's way too early to tell." He said that until the fire is put out, an accurate assessment cannot be made.
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