Flames from pipeline fire near Houston subsides but continue burning

A flame that towered over a southeast Houston suburb subsided Tuesday but was still burning following a pipeline explosion that happened when a vehicle drove through a Walmart parking lot fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said.

Progress has been made as first responder crews worked through the night. The fire is significantly smaller, according to a statement from Deer Park. The city said Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based owner of the pipeline, expects the fire to burn itself out later Tuesday.

City officials said police and FBI agents found no preliminary evidence to suggest a coordinated or terrorist attack, and said it appears to be an isolated incident," but they haven't offered any details on how they came to that conclusion.

Investigators were trying to learn more about the driver of the vehicle. The car was incinerated by the explosion, which scorched the ground across a wide radius, severed nearby power transmission lines, melted playground equipment and ...