Massive fire at decommissioned power plant in Texas City creates large smoke plume, officials say

TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- Smoke rose over Texas City Sunday night as firefighters worked to extinguish a major fire at a decommissioned power plant, according to officials.

On Sunday evening, officials told ABC13 that the fire was 100% contained. However, they said it will smolder for quite some time, and people can expect to see smoke for the next 12 hours or so.

The fire burned at the PHR Peakers plant on the 5500 block of Highway 146, just inside the Texas City limits, according to Kemah police. The Galveston County Sheriff's Office said the incident was first reported around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Photos from the scene showed the building still smoking while several fire engines worked to control the flames.

Officials said that the Texas City, San Leon, Pearland, League City, La Marque, Alvin, Webster, Santa Fe, and other nearby Galveston County fire departments collaborated to put out the fire throughout the morning. The GCSO added that the San Leon Volunteer Fire Department initially led the response.

A public safety alert was issued to mobile devices in the area, urging residents to avoid smoke conditions. While residents who spoke to ABC13 expressed concern that embers might spread to nearby neighborhoods, Texas City firefighters said air monitoring has shown air quality to be safe.

According to Matthew Wyatt, Assistant Chief of the Texas City Fire Department, the flames grew quickly because there was no water supply on the property.

"There's no water supply out there, so that was our major hurdle," Wyatt said. "We got a pony pump into the ditch, and that allowed us to get enough water to have two master streams.

Officials stated that no natural gas or electricity is entering the property, as the plant has been decommissioned.

Jason Brown, a fire marshal with the TCFD, said that the cause of the fire will not be investigated until it is fully out. Still, officials said there's no indication anyone was on the site when the fire started.

SkyEye video shot later in the morning showed several structures, reportedly cooling towers, that had completely burned down.

The smoke from the fire was so thick that ABC13 Meteorologist Kevin Roth could see it on the 13 Alert Radar as it drifted northeast over Galveston Bay.