At least one person was killed and five others were injured in a major explosion along an arterial gasoline pipeline in Shelby County on Monday, according to the pipeline company Colonial Pipeline.
A portion of the pipeline, which carries fuel from Texas up the east coast to New Jersey, exploded south of Birmingham Monday afternoon when the trackhoe a nine-man contract crew was using to work on the pipeline "hit the line," Colonial said.
Gasoline ignited during the incident and caused a wildfire, which continued to burn late Monday night, according to an update from Colonial at 10:45 p.m. Monday.
Five people were transported to Birmingham-area hospitals after the explosion but one person was killed, Colonial said.
"Our deepest condolences go out tonight to the family and friends of the person who was lost today, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured," Colonial said in a statement Monday.
Officials evacuated a three-mile radius around the explosion zone in an area in Shelby County near Helena, Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley said Monday night. Bentley said officials would have to let the fuel burn until the fire can be extinguished.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire continued to burn.
Firemen and other first responders from across the state rushed to the scene to assist in extinguishing the large fires, which burned nearly 32 acres, according to the governor's office.
The Alabama Forestry Commission, which has battled to contain more than a thousand wildfires during the major drought over the past month, continues to work the scene along with Shelby County first responders.
Crews have built an 8-foot-tall dirt dam that is nearly 80 feet long to contain the burning fuel.
Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Art Faulkner said Monday night that the fire had been contained and it would need to burn itself out. Faulker also said he has briefed Bentley on the extent of the incident.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured," Bentley said. "We have a real drought in this state. ... Our resources have been stretched thin, but we will have enough resources in place. We will put enough resources in place to take care of this and protect the people in that area."
The EMA also placed a temporary flight restriction in effect over the area of the pipeline explosion. Only relief aircraft will be authorized in the airspace until the thick smoke dissipates.
Immediately after the explosion, Colonial Pipeline company shut down its two mainlines, which cross the state of Alabama. They remain down for the foreseeable future.
The location of the explosion is several miles, according to Colonia, from the site of a separate spill on the same pipeline that occurred on Sept. 9 in Shelby County.
Gas prices rose juristically across the state and stations in Auburn ran dry or raised their prices nearly 20 cents per gallon over several days following the detection of the leak last month, which prompted the governor to issue a state of emergency.
The pipeline subject to both the spill and Monday's explosion is a main artery responsible for delivering gasoline to the Southeast and the East Coast, providing as much as 40 percent of the regions gasoline.
Colonial Pipeline, the owner, has estimated that as much as 8,000 barrels of fuel leaked before the pipeline was closed down last month. A reroute was built and the pipeline went back into service in late September.
The gasoline pipeline, Line 1, remains closed at this hour and gas prices in Auburn, Lee County and across the Southeast can be expected to rise with the closure. Line 2, which transports diesel, jet fuel and other fuels, began running again Monday night.
This story will be updated as new details become available.
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