An explosion at an East Texas natural gas or oil well site operated by a Plano-based company set off a large fire that was seen for miles and led to some evacuations, but caused no injuries, authorities said Tuesday.
The Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office received numerous calls late Monday of a loud explosion in Etoile, a small, rural community. about 20 miles away from the City of Nacogdoches.
The sheriff's office said the explosion happened at an oil well site. A Nacogdoches city spokesman confirmed to KERA News Plano-based Revenant Energy was the drill operator and Tulsa-based H&P was the drilling company.
KERA reached out to Revenant and will update this story with any response. Drilling company H&P said the cause of the well blowout is not yet known.
The city described it as a natural gas well, based on information it received from the Texas Department of Public Safety, city spokesperson Kevin Meyer said Tuesday.
Residents were advised to evacuate as a precaution and others were asked to shelter in place. It wasn't immediately known how many residents were affected.
There fire was not spreading and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was monitoring air quality as of Tuesday afternoon, Meyer said.
"There's not any evacuations being called for in the immediate future unless something drastic were to change," Meyers said. "No one has to worry about evacuating if they were not already evacuated out earlier today."
A well control emergency response company from Houston was on its way to further suppress the fire, Meyer said.
"At this time there is no indication of an immediate broader risk, and monitoring is ongoing," H&P spokesperson Stephanie Higgins said in a statement.
She said the company is cooperating with investigators.
Motorists should avoid travel in the area in order to keep important roads open for heavy equipment to move in for fire suppression efforts on FM 226, Meyer said.
"If you can avoid the area please do so," Meyer said. "Don't drive in to kind of try and see the fire because you probably won't be able to see it anyhow, and we just want to keep the roads clear as possible."
Alexsis Jones is a reporter and producer for KERA News. Got a tip? Email Alexsis at ajones@kera.org.
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