Gas pipeline ruptures, displacing 10 homeowners for several hours

By Susan Taft
staft@campcountynow.com

Residents of 10 homes were evacuated Sunday evening when a natural gas pipeline ruptured.
“The line was spewing gas at a creek crossing,” said Emergency Management Coordinator John Cortelyou. “CenterPoint Energy was called, and they were able to isolate the area of line that was ruptured.”
Those living near the line on Farm-to-Market Road 2057 called 911 after hearing what they called an explosion.
“I got a call on my cell phone at 6:30, and I immediately called the office,” Camp County Sheriff Alan McCandless said. “They said they had gotten a call and had confirmed that it was the pipeline.”
The Camp County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Pittsburg Fire Department and the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department responded, along with Mr. Cortelyou.
“Evacuation was started immediately,” Sheriff McCandless said, “and no injuries were reported.”
The Pittsburg Fire Department set up a command post in a homeowner’s yard.
“We picked the brains of everyone who heard it, and those who had been down to where it occurred,” said David Abernathy, fire chief with the Pittsburg Fire Department. “One man, whose house is about 250 yards from where the rupture occurred, said he saw the dirt and mud flying after he heard it.”
He said CenterPoint Energy responded very quickly.
“They had folks from their distribution department to assess the situation before the pipeline crew arrived,” Mr. Abernathy said. “They shared information in a very timely manner, and kept us in the loop which was beneficial for them and for us. Officers went around and informed the people who needed to evacuate, and people cooperated really well with the evacuations. It was good effort on everyone’s part.”
Alicia Dixon, corporate communication director for CenterPoint Energy, said the natural gas leak was in a 12-inch pipeline.
Mr. Cortelyou said with the wind on Sunday night, the gas dissipated quickly.
“Natural gas is lighter than air, so it does dissipate quickly,” he said. “They could smell the natural gas odor all the way to Hughes Springs, but it was not explosive.”
By 9:30 p.m., residents were able to return home.
As a result of the leak, seven Center Point residential customers were without natural gas service, according to Ms. Dixon.
“We have begun repairing the line and hope to reestablish service to those seven customers later today,” Ms. Dixon said Monday morning.