Authorities launched a controlled burn Sunday at a chemical plant damaged by Harvey,
Officials seek to limit risk of unstable compounds at flood-ravaged Texas site
HOUSTON — Authorities launched a controlled burn Sunday at a chemical plant damaged by Harvey, sending small flames and gray smoke into the sky, and said the highly unstable compounds that had exploded earlier needed to be neutralized.
Small flames burning in charred structures were seen, with a limited amount of the smoke, from the Arkema plant in Crosby, outside Houston. Sam Mannan, a chemical safety expert at Texas A&M University, said the gray smoke indicated a more complete burn with fewer harmful chemicals remaining. By Sunday night, officials said all fires at the plant were out.
Officials said the “proactive measures” to ignite six remaining trailers didn’t pose additional risks to the community. People living within a mile and a half of the site are still evacuated, and the fire marshal’s office says state, federal and local agencies will keep monitoring the air.
Three trailers containing unstable compounds had already caught fire at the plant after backup generators were engulfed by Harvey’s floodwaters, which knocked out the refrigeration necessary to keep them from degrading and catching fire.
Some Houston officials stressed that the recovery from Harvey was beginning, and Mayor Sylvester Turner proclaimed America’s fourth-largest city “open for business.” But the on-the-ground reality varied by place.
Utility crews went doorto-door shutting off power and warning those still in some waterlogged homes in western parts of the city that still more flooding could be heading their way — not from rain but from releases of water in overtaxed reservoirs. Thousands of Houston dwellings were under new, mandatory evacuation orders, though about 300 people were thought to be refusing to leave.
Some homes in the area, which included brick twostory and ranch homes with manicured lawns bordering Buffalo Bayou, remained evacuated but people briefly returned Sunday to try to salvage valuables such as family photos.
Harvey slammed into Texas on Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane, but brought the worst flooding to Houston and other areas as a tropical storm. The rain totaled nearly 52 inches in some spots, and the storm is blamed for at least 44 deaths.
President Donald Trump has asked Congress for a $7.9 billion down payment toward Harvey relief and recovery efforts. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott suggested the cost of recovery could be as muchas $180 billion.
Mr. Turner insisted, however, that much of the city was hoping to get back on track after Labor Day.
“Anyone who was planning on a conference or a convention or a sporting event or a concert coming to this city, you can still come,” the mayor said on the CBS show “Face the Nation.”
Meanwhile, repairs continued on the water treatment plant in Beaumont, which failed after the swollen Neches River inundated the main intake system and backup pumps halted.