Chevron Pipeline Explosion Turns Milford into Ghost Town

Milford, north Texas evacuated after natural gas pipeline explodes

A massive explosion in a Chevron-owned natural gas pipeline forced nearly the entire population of about 800 in Milford, a North Texas town, to evacuate.

The cause of the explosion remains unknown,  said the assistant fire marshal. “Chevron has not started to investigate the cause of the explosion,” said a report.

However, the company has asked the the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office to impose  a 1 1/2-mile (2.5km) evacuation zone for Milford, 40 miles south of Dallas.

A five-person construction crew, doing excavation work at the site before the fire, managed to evacuate the area before the explosion.

Chevron gas pipeline explosion near Milford, Texas was followed by a large fire. Source: Still frame from local news video clips.

Town residents have been told to expect spending another night away from their homes as crews work to secure the explosion site, the report said.

“Chevron owns the blown pipeline, and another larger transmission line, located just a few feet away. Crews are set up on the east and west sides of the larger line, about a mile away from the blast site. They are expected to secure the site and shut off the flow of gas to the larger line sometime Friday afternoon,” the report said.