La Porte, Sep 16 (AP) Firefighters were battling a pipeline fire in suburban Houston that sparked grass fires and burned power poles on Monday, forcing people in the surrounding neighbourhood to evacuate.

The fire began at 9:55 am in La Porte, located about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southwest of Houston.

Also Read | Kenya Plane Crash: Light Aircraft Operated by Boskovic Air Charters Crashes After Veering off Runway in Migori County, No Casualties Reported.

Video footage from KTRK showed a park near the fire had been damaged and firefighters pouring water on homes near the blaze.

Officials have ordered residents in the Brookglen neighbourhood area near the fire to evacuate, Lee Woodward, a La Porte city spokesperson said in an email.

Also Read | Earthquake in Australia: Quake of Magnitude 6.3 on Richter Scale Strikes Near Saipan in Northern Mariana Islands.

“Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction. Further details will be released as available,” Woodward said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)