At a Glance

The plant is near Shepherd, Texas, about 50 miles northeast of Houston.Anyone within a one-mile radius was advised to shelter in place.Winds were blowing about 10 to 20 mph toward the northeast.

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Flames shot into the air from a massive chemical plant fire in southeast Texas Wednesday.

Two schools were evacuated and people were told to shelter in place after the explosion.

T​he fire started around 8 a.m. and was contained a few hours later.

V​ideo shared by local media while the fire was burning showed a of smoke coming from the plant near Shepherd, about 50 miles northeast of Houston. The facility is a petroleum processing facility called , according to officials in San Jacinto County, where it's located.

Diesel and flammable liquids were , KHOU-TV reported. The station cited Sound Resource Solutions president Geoff Harfield as saying the materials burning were not toxic, but a from neighboring Polk County noted records filed by the plant indicate it has housed turpentine, sulfuric acid, xylene and other chemicals "known to have acute toxicity."

A dark plume of smoke rises from a chemical plant near Shepherd, Texas, on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.

(Texas Department of Transportation)

One plant employee was being treated for minor burns.

Gusty winds in the area were blowing about 10 to 20 mph toward the northeast and away from populated areas closer to Houston, weather.com senior meteorologist said.

But it was blowing toward Polk County, to the north of San Jacinto. People there were told to stay inside and turn off their HVAC systems. At least one public school there was evacuated and others were sheltering in place.

A shelter in place order from San Jacinto County applied to anyone within a one-mile radius of the plant according to a Facebook post from San Jacinto County Emergency Management. That was scaled down from a previous order affecting people within five miles. A private school there was evacuated.

The office of emergency management said in a statement to the Associated Press that a private school in the area had been evacuated and at least one road – Highway 59 – was closed due to the fire.

Residents were also told to turn off their HVAC units.

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.

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