Houston-area Shell chemical plant catches fire

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A chemical plant in the Houston area caught fire Friday, sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the fire was at a Shell USA Inc. facility in Deer Park, a suburb east of Houston.

Officers received a service call just after 3 p.m. Friday to help divert traffic around the plant, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland said. The city of Deer Park said in an advisory that there was no shelter-in-place order for residents.

Fire crews from the plant and nearby plants are responding, as well as the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, who is leading the response, Gilliland said.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a tweet his agency was responding to calls about “some type of explosion.”