BRYAN, Texas -
Officials are reportedly evacuating the entire city of Bryan because of a fire at a chemical plant believed to contain explosive ammonium nitrate.
Reports from the area say fire officials there are asking all homes and businesses in Bryan to evacuate to College Station, to the south.
The U.S. Census Bureau says Bryan's population is 72,000.
The fire broke out about noon Thursday. Bryan-College Station fire dispatcher Andy Throne says the plume of smoke from the El Dorado Chemical Co. plant extends up to 60 miles from the plant.
Throne says no injuries have been reported from the fire, where fertilizer and other chemicals are blended and packaged. But he says an area up to six miles from the plant will be evacuated, including part of northwestern Bryan and a large part of northwestern Brazos County.
The plant is located about three-fourths of a mile west of Bryan.
Ammonium nitrate is a fertilizer, but it can also be used as an explosive. The chemical was the active ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
Reports from the area say fire officials there are asking all homes and businesses in Bryan to evacuate to College Station, to the south.
The U.S. Census Bureau says Bryan's population is 72,000.
The fire broke out about noon Thursday. Bryan-College Station fire dispatcher Andy Throne says the plume of smoke from the El Dorado Chemical Co. plant extends up to 60 miles from the plant.
Throne says no injuries have been reported from the fire, where fertilizer and other chemicals are blended and packaged. But he says an area up to six miles from the plant will be evacuated, including part of northwestern Bryan and a large part of northwestern Brazos County.
The plant is located about three-fourths of a mile west of Bryan.
Ammonium nitrate is a fertilizer, but it can also be used as an explosive. The chemical was the active ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
