Pipeline explosion suspicious

Houston Chronicle ^ | September 27, 2004 | TODD ACKERMAN

[Cincinatus' Wife]

NEW CANEY - In what appears to be a case of criminal mischief, a punctured pipeline exploded before dawn Sunday, causing the evacuation of 250 people but no injuries or significant damage to nearby homes.

Residents near the pipeline said they were awakened around 4:45 a.m. by two explosions — a small one, then a large one — that sounded like thunder or a train or tornado. The sky turned bright orange, they said.

"My windows shook and there was a whooshing sound like a train, so I thought a tornado might be coming," Joe Pachuca said of the explosion, roughly 30 miles northeast of Houston, just west of U.S. 59. "I grabbed my kids and said, 'Let's get the hell out of here.' "

Sebastian Perez, a resident who stuck around to videotape the fire before being evacuated, described the scene as "a big glow, with flames shooting way up there, above the trees."

The fire, with dark smoke that could be seen for miles, was out by 11 a.m. Two hours later, people were allowed to return to their homes in the Timberland Estates area and Silver Trails subdivision.

Officials were attempting Sunday to identify suspects in a felony investigation into the explosion. One or more individuals took a subcontractor's heavy equipment early Sunday morning and apparently began digging with it and punctured the pipeline, said Montgomery County Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams. "We are treating this as a criminal act, one where it doesn't matter if the result was intentional," Williams said. "It's unconscionable this was done near homes. This easily could have resulted in a fatality."

Williams said whoever was involved in the incident had to know how to operate the equipment — a trackhoe (a four-wheel excavator) and a boom truck (the type with an arm that extends to reach power lines).

The trackhoe, which previously had been used for utility line construction in the area, was left at the site of the explosion, where the fire raged. The boom truck was driven into the nearby woods, its arm raised as high as possible. Both belonged to a subcontractor of Entergy power company.

The pipeline, one of many in the area, belongs to Mustang Pipeline. The company's spokesperson did not return calls Sunday. Williams said the company began monitoring the air Sunday to determine if vapors from the explosion posed a health threat in the area.

Before that, a small grass fire was contained and a 6-mile stretch of Mustang's propylene pipeline was taken out of service. The fire was allowed to burn itself out. Propylene is a volatile gas used in the production of resins, plastics and gasoline. An initial review of a nearby propane pipeline found it had not been damaged.

Many residents evacuated from the area went to a shelter set up at the New Caney High School ninth-grade campus.

The criminal investigation is being conducted by the Montgomery County fire marshal's and sheriff's offices. The investigation will determine whether this incident can be linked to vandalism that occurred at other area construction sites a month ago.

Williams urged anyone with information about the incident or who saw any suspicious activity in the area Saturday night or Sunday morning to contact Montgomery County Crime Stoppers at 800-392-STOP.

todd.ackerman@chron.com

[nw_arizona_granny]

ping

[OXENinFLA]

Pipeline explodes northeast of Houston; 250 evacuated

CONTINUING THREAD.

[antiunion person]

Seems to me that a timer had to be used to set off the explosions. It someone was around when it exploded, the investigators would have found body parts. I think the equipment was moved around as a diversion from the actual crime. A tiny bit of C-4 goes a very long way. Lastly, if the investigators think it was an act of terrorism, we would be last they would tell unless it leaked out to the liberal media, and then it would be exploited by the democrats trying to get pumpkin boy elected.