Smoke Plume From Houston Plant Fire Moves Toward Austin Area

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The massive smoke plume emanating from the Deer Park petrochemical storage facility in the Houston area is making its way toward the Austin region, but regulatory officials insist it's not harmful to humans.

According to the National Weather Service, the plume on Tuesday afternoon starting moving past the Houston area to communities along the Interstate 10 corridor as it moved in a north-northwest direction. Slight northeast winds on Tuesday morning shifted from southeast at between 10 miles per hour and 15 miles per hour, spreading the smoke plume to a wider area.

The increasing winds carried the smoke plume farther to the north-northwest toward the Hill Country. Fortunately — hazardous or not — the smoke plume rose from 3,000 feet above the ground to around 5,000 feet to 6,000 feet p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, weather officials said. The NWS was monitoring the huge plume on radar all day Tuesday, and will continue monitoring its trajectory.

The public is able to monitor air quality data by clicking here. At noon on Tuesday, air quality levels were stuck on the "moderate" reading with 78 particles detected in the Houston area, according to AirNow.gov. The reading is a mere notch below a level deemed unhealthy for particularly susceptible residents, among them older adults, children and those with heart and lung disease. A particle reading of at least 310 is needed to reach "hazardous" levels.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality also is actively monitoring the multi-tank fire at Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park. "TCEQ is ensuring that the responsible party is taking all appropriate actions to address this incident," the agency said in a press advisory. "TCEQ is providing supplemental air monitoring in addition to monitoring being conducted by a number of other entities, including ITC’s contractor."

Tina Callicoatte Wise shot these photos from Beltway 8 near Pasadena of smoke billowing from the ITC facility in nearby Deer Park..

That monitoring has been happening since the first tank at the plant caught fire on Sunday. Overnight that day, TCEQ environmental investigators conducted hand-held air monitoring in the vicinity, officials said. On Monday, TCEQ deployed two additional air monitoring stations "...that are being strategically located in coordination with the unified command for the incident," environmental regulators said.

"TCEQ staff will continue to conduct hand-held monitoring in the area, also in coordination with the unified command," regulators vowed. "Additionally, TCEQ’s ambient air monitoring network continues to collect data from stationary monitors in the area. TCEQ also worked to arrange EPA’s ASPECT airplane to provide air monitoring flights over the area."

While some residents in the Austin area might actually see part of the plume in the sky, regulators assured it doesn't pose a health risk. The agency will provide updates via its webpage, including a map with real-time data from TCEQ’s stationary ambient monitoring sites, officials said.

Throughout the day on Tuesday, weather officials were providing dramatic images of the plume to illustrate its massive scale. Take a gander at one such look:

Now check it out from this angle:

Despite its ominous-looking nature, officials insist it's harmless as it relates to people's health. As the cloud moves more into the Austin area, Patch will update if that assessment changes.

Get Patch's Daily Newsletters and Real Time Alerts