In October 1994, the San Jacinto River in Harris County, Texas, experienced severe flooding due to heavy rainfall. On October 20, 1994, this flooding led to the rupture of several pipelines, releasing petroleum products into the river. The spilled gasoline ignited, causing a massive fire that destroyed homes, vehicles, and other structures along the riverbanks. The fire burned for nearly a week before it was fully extinguished
This disaster resulted in 574 reported injuries, primarily from smoke inhalation and minor burns. The incident highlighted the vulnerabilities of pipeline infrastructure during extreme weather events and underscored the importance of stringent safety measures in flood-prone areas.
For the people who live in Channelview that day was a nightmare that they have never forgotten.
Texas Public Radio’s Texas Matters is bringing you part two of Fumed, an investigative podcast series about Channelview, an unincorporated community outside Houston and in the heart of America’s petrochemical industry.
The series is from our partners at Public Health Watch – a nonprofit newsroom, is called Fumed.
It tells the story of two stubborn Harris County residents who challenged the powerful companies that they say are taking over their once peaceful neighborhood.
What happens next tests their character, their community and the very idea of what it means to be a true Texan.
In the previous episode we learn about Carolyn Stone and Greg Moss. They have settled into quiet lives in Channelview neighborhoods that suit their very different personalities.
Carolyn and her husband live in an old house in South Channelview, in the Lakeview Homes subdivision. It has a big backyard where she can garden, paint and raise her two children. There’s a large park for fishing and picnicking just a short walk away and neighbors across the street who host get-togethers on decks overlooking the San Jacinto River.
Greg lives upstream in the River Bottom an isolated and marshy area in East Channelview, where he’s free to boat and fish on the San Jacinto River.
He has a manufactured house and a workshop where he repairs boats. Like Carolyn, he’s content with the life he has built for himself.
But in the 1990s, industries and barges begin moving in—and Channelview started to change. Explosions. Fires. Floods. How do they cope with it all?
For the full episodes of Fumed click over to Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the Fumed dedicated website. Listen along as Public Health Watch unpacks the stories of people who live in the shadows of America’s chemical plants and oil refineries.
