November 14th, 2013 MILFORD, Texas -Hundreds of people in Ellis County were evacuated and others were asked to stay away from the area where a gas pipeline caught fire Thursday morning.
It happened at about 9:30 a.m. November 14th, 2013 near the intersection of Highway 77 and FM 308 in Milford.
Ellis County spokesman James Saulter said a Chevron crew had been conducting a type of drilling when the explosion happened.
Video from SKY4 showed heavy flames rising from what appeared to a rig in a rural field. It was surrounded by several charred work trucks. The large plum of black smoke was visible from Interstate 35E.
No one was hurt and there were no reports of damage to any nearby homes or businesses, Saulter said.
However, officials are still concerned about the fire spreading to other pipelines in the area.
The whole city of Milford, which has a population of about 800, was evacuated. Students were moved to schools in the nearby town of Italy.
Traffic on FM 308 was rerouted between Highways 22 and 77. Motorists in the area were asked to use I-35E as an alternative to Hwy. 77.
Chevron will let the pipeline burn itself out, which is expect to take about 24 hours, Saulter said.
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Ref: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/23969008/gas-pipeline-explodes-in-ellis-county#ixzz2kfzCxDPt