Daylight hadn’t yet slipped from the sky above Port Arthur when the residents felt the ground shake. They quickly moved inside, shut windows and closed doors, sheltering in place until they got word that the explosion at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery was under control.
The ensuing fire, which polluted the community in a black chemical plume in late March, burned for nearly 10 hours and released chemicals into the air for over 10 days.
