Galveston County officials say people who are at-risk should take extra precautions and remain indoors.

BACLIFF, Texas — Firefighters from multiple crews continue to fight a fire at a decommissioned power plant along Highway 146 in the Bacliff area. 

According to the Texas City Fire Department, the fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. at the old PH Robinson Power Plant on Highway 146 near 29th Street and Avenue J. Fire officials said no one was supposed to be at the plant, as the site has been shut down for a while. 

Texas City Fire Captain Jason Grimm said an old cooling tower at the plant caught fire and collapsed. A second tower also caught fire, followed by a third. By about 7:30 a.m., most of the structures had come down.

Grimm said there’s no fire threatening any other structures or neighborhoods, though KHOU 11 reporter Michelle Choi noticed ash and embers from the fire in a community close to where the fire was burning. There was a limited shelter-in-place for parts of San Leon from 8th Street to Galveston Bay as a precaution. 

Choi reported from the Edgewater Park neighborhood, which is down the street from the plant. The neighborhood is not only being blanked with thick smoke from the fire. It’s also getting ash and embers from it. 

Air quality doesn’t appear to be an issue at this point. Galveston County health officials say readings downwind from the fire have remained near baseline through 12:30 p.m. The bigger concern is any new fires. Crews are monitoring the embers, along with wind shifts and dry grass. 

Even though the air doesn’t have any hazardous readings, people who are at-risk should take extra precautions, particularly those with pre-existing lung conditions. They should stay indoors as smoke inhalation may cause respiratory issues. 

No injuries have been reported, and the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.  

Grimm said there isn’t any power entering or leaving the plant. There’s also no natural gas supply.  

As far as winds affecting the smoke, meteorologist Chita Craft said they’re relatively calm for most of the area, moving to the east-southeast at under 10 miles per hour, but near the coast close to Bacliff, they’re moving north at around 12 miles per hour. 


It took multiple crews to battle the flames, including ones from Texas City, League City, San Leon, Pearland, Dickinson, La Marque, Santa Fe, Hitchcock, Bayou Vista, Webster, and Alvin. 

The smoke was so heavy a little before 10 a.m. that it was picked up on radar.



About the facility

The P.H. Robinson power plant was a Houston Lighting & Power facility built in the 1960s to boost Houston’s energy supply.  It’s been out of service for more than 15  years, according to multiple reports.

It was named after the then-HL&P president.

Just last month, the Galveston Daily News reported that the site of the power plant was to become a desalinization plant. That’s a plant that turns saltwater into freshwater for human consumption and irrigation.

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