"At this time, the effects of the chemical in the air are unknown," announced the emergency management unit in neighboring Polk County about the incident.
Area schools have all been evacuated, and residents living in the area have been warned to turn off their HVAC systems to avoid circulating potentially toxic air through their homes.
Right after the fire and explosion first occurred, the chemical and smoke plumes were so large that a shelter-in-place order was issued for a five-mile radius around the plant, which processes petroleum.
After emergency crews successfully battled the blaze, the shelter-in-place order was reduced to just one mile.
BREAKING: A Massive Fire Has Broken Out at a Petroleum Processing Plant in Shepherd, TX
Multiple fire agencies are on the scene and residents within a five-mile radius are being asked to shelter in place. pic.twitter.com/NSQZtegwGZ
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 8, 2023
(Related: Last year, dozens of food processing facilities across America caught fire under mysterious circumstances, leading many to conclude that the nation's food supply and other infrastructure is under attack.)
Southwest winds to push chemical plume smoke down into Houston, along Gulf Cost
At least one worker at the plant was injured during the fire in a "freak accident" that was reportedly caused by a forklift incident. He was taken to nearby Memorial Hermann for treatment of second-degree burns to his arms and first-degree burns to his face.
Sound Resource Solutions, the company that owns the plant, reported that all 40 employees are now fully accounted for with just this one "minor" injury involving burns to the face and arms.
DEVELOPING: Dark smoke and flames rise high into the sky at the site of a massive reported chemical fire in San Jacinto County, Texas. pic.twitter.com/7boNpvjWsB
— ABC News (@ABC) November 8, 2023
The only problem now is southwesterly winds that continue to gust over Shepherd, which are driving potentially toxic chemical and smoke plumes down towards Houston and along the Gulf Coast even further south than that.
An investigation is pending to look into exactly which chemicals were burned and released, and how toxic the air above and around the plant might be.
"Oh look, another 'coincidence,'" wrote one skeptical commenter about the unlikelihood of this being just another "accident."
"It is notable that they never break out at sex change offices or in D.C.," wrote another about how all these fires and explosions never occur where the bad guys are – why is that?
"It's been a while since they've sabotaged critical infrastructure," wrote another, the suggestion being that this is all planned. "They are behind schedule."
"Wow, I'm so relieved! At first I thought these tragic photos were from a recent attack on Ukraine or Israel," joked another. "Thank goodness it is just our ever-exploding energy, transportation, and food infrastructure."
Another wondered whether the people in Lahaina, Maui, were asked to shelter in place when their town was burned out by a "wildfire," also known as a directed energy weapons (DEW) attack.
"Looks like smoke from Styrofoam," expressed another about the ugly, toxic look of the smoke in the above videos and pictures. "This is not the DDT truck you want to run behind."
"I truly don't remember these types of incidents along with the heightened frequency even as little as 20 years ago," said someone else. "Are terrorists operating in the United States?"
More related news about the ongoing destruction of America's infrastructure under mysterious circumstances can be found at Collapse.news.
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