Texas Chemical Plant Explosion Leads to Shelter-in-Place Order and School Evacuation

By Johnathan Jones November 8, 2023 at 11:39am

A massive explosion at a chemical plant just north of Houston had local authorities scrambling to evacuate people away from the area on Wednesday morning.

Others in the general area of the facility in the city of Shepherd, Texas, were told to shelter in place or leave the area.

Those who remained were asked to turn off their central heat and air units.

KHOU reported the explosion occurred at a plant for Sound Resource Solutions. The company’s website says it makes numerous chemicals, including Methyl Ethyl Ketone and acetone.

One person who works at the plant was injured and was taken to a local hospital in an unknown condition, according to KHOU.

Numerous viral videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) showed a thick, black plume of smoke rising up from the plant:

A massive fire at a chemical plant in Shepherd, Texas, is prompting evacuations as smoke fills the sky https://t.co/tOTeP2fxjy pic.twitter.com/HzLWycN8Q0

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 8, 2023

BREAKING: Massive explosion at a chemical plant in Shepherd, Texas, residents ordered to shelter pic.twitter.com/7csSMETw7S

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) November 8, 2023

Should plants have better safety measures in place?

Shelter-in-place order issued after chemical plant explosion in Shepherd, Texas; smoke visible for milespic.twitter.com/0krc7baQlk

— BNO News (@BNONews) November 8, 2023

BREAKING: Explosion reported at chemical plant in Shepherd, Texas; shelter-in-place issued for nearby towns pic.twitter.com/5wiXPGKkXD

— Intel Point Alert (@IntelPointAlert) November 8, 2023

At around 9 a.m. CT, the San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management urged people in the immediate vicinity of the plant to evacuate.

“CHEMICAL PLANT ON FIRE FM 1127 in Shepherd,” the office posted on Facebook. “At this time a private school located on FM 1127 has been safely evacuated. All other residents living in a five mile radius around this location should shelter in place at this time.”

In neighboring Polk County, emergency management officials posted on Facebook, acknowledging the chemicals in the air. “At this time, the effects of the chemical in the air are unknown,” the post read in part.

Emergency management officials also shared a projected map of a smoke plume from the National Weather Service warning people in the area the smoke would likely continue to head in a north northeastern direction.

The city of Livingston was directly in the path of the smoke. The initial five-mile radius shelter order was later reduced to one mile, KHOU reported.

Local law enforcement and health officials scheduled a media briefing for Wednesday afternoon.

Numerous highways near Shepherd were completely closed as of midday local time.

A Note from Our Founder:

Every morning, we at The Western Journal wake up and pursue our mission of giving you the important information you need about what’s happening in America.

We can’t do that without your help.

America has been on the receiving end of false narratives. The purpose of these false narratives is to make you feel powerless. The Western Journal empowers you by breaking these false narratives.

But I wouldn’t be honest with you today if I didn’t let you know that the future of The Western Journal is in jeopardy without your help.

Silicon Valley and the Big Tech tyrants have done everything they can to put The Western Journal out of business. Our faithful donors and subscribers have kept us going.

If you’ve never chosen to donate, let me be honest: We need your help today.

Please don’t wait one minute. Donate right now – our situation in America is dire. Our country hangs by a thread, and The Western Journal stands for truth in this difficult time.

Please stand with us by donating today.
Floyd G. Brown
Founder of The Western Journal

Submit a Correction →