CNN
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Homes and businesses in a Houston suburb have been evacuated as firefighters try to contain a large pipeline fire that has been raging for several hours.

The fire was reported Monday morning between Deer Park and La Porte, about 25 miles southeast of Houston, and prompted road closures and evacuations of nearby homes, according to the La Porte Emergency Management Agency.

The pipeline is owned by Energy Transfer and authorities have not yet determined the cause of the fire, Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton told reporters on Monday.

Mounton added that “liquid natural gas” is burning and “it will take some time for the flames to go out.”

Energy Transfer said in a statement to CNN that an incident involving a 20-inch liquefied natural gas line occurred at one of its valve stations, resulting in a fire.

“The line has been isolated to allow any residual product in the line to burn out safely. We currently have no timeline for how long this process will take, but we are working closely with local authorities,” the company said.

At least 50 people were evacuated because of the fire, but “significantly” more people were affected by power outages, evacuations and closures in the area, said Deer Park Deputy Police Chief Frank Hart.

CenterPoint Energy, a Houston-based utility, reported multiple outages in the region Monday morning. The company said it was monitoring the incident, which was “unrelated to the company’s natural gas operations or facilities.”

“As soon as it is safe to do so, our electrical crews will go to the area to assess the damage to our transmission and distribution lines, poles and equipment and restore service to affected customers as safely and quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement to CNN.

One firefighter was treated for minor injuries, Hart said.

Some schools in the area, including San Jacinto College’s central campus, imposed curfews because of the fire and later canceled classes and all other activities.

Melina Guerra, a 25-year-old journeyman who lives in a trailer in the evacuation area, told the Associated Press she had just eaten breakfast when she heard the explosion.

“Suddenly we heard this loud bang and then I saw something bright, like orange, coming out of our back door outside,” Guerra said.

“I was just freaking out, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was happening. I thought maybe it was a plane that had crashed near our house,” Guerra added.