A major explosion at a Texas chemical plant has caused a massive fire, triggering evacuations and stay-at-home-orders.
The explosion and subsequent fire happened on Wednesday morning at a chemical plant in Shepherd, Texas, about an hour outside Houston, the San Jacinto county office of emergency management said in a Facebook post.
The explosion and fire reportedly happened at a petroleum processing plant, the precinct 2 constable for San Jacinto county said, NBC News reported.
One employee was injured with minor burns to his body, said Geoff Harfield, the president of Sound Resource Solutions, in a Wednesday press conference. He is being treated at an area hospital.
The chemical plant fire sent large plumes of smoke into the sky, as seen in photos posted to social media.
A nearby private school was evacuated following the explosion, with 31 children being moved to a nearby building.
A portion of US Highway 59 is also closed, the county’s emergency management office said.
Those within a five-mile radius of the plant were instructed to remain indoors.
Officials later reduced the shelter-in-place order to those in a one mile radius, the county’s emergency management office said.
