Flaring, odours and plant alerts: the CAER line

A boom. A flare like a second sunset. A smell on the south wind. A siren at noon on a Wednesday. Here's how to tell the difference in Baytown, in the order of how worried to be.

A flare

A big flame at the top of a tall stack, sometimes with black smoke, sometimes loud enough to rattle a window. It's a safety system: when a unit upsets or starts up or shuts down, gas is burned off instead of released. Flares happen weekly somewhere in the corridor and almost never mean anything for you. Big ones get reported to the state within twenty-four hours; the company posts a notice; the CAER line describes it. Before and after a hurricane, expect days of it. Worried level: none, unless a siren joins it.

A boom

Usually a pressure-relief event, a startup, or something dropped in a rail yard; occasionally a lightning strike on a tank; once in a long while, something real. Check the CAER line and the county's alert feed. If nothing's posted in an hour and there's no siren, it was noise. Worried level: low.

A smell

Sulfur on a south wind is the refinery breathing. Something sweeter or sharper can be the chemical side; something like rotten eggs can be a gas odorant and deserves a call. The county runs air monitors around the fenceline and posts the readings; we link them here. If your eyes or throat react, go inside, close the windows, and call the CAER line — the plants log complaints and they count toward what the state does next. Worried level: low to medium, and your nose is a legitimate instrument.

A siren

There are two kinds. The test is on a schedule — the day and time are on this page, pulled from the county, so it doesn't scare you. The real one comes with a text from Baytown Alert or the county and a message that says shelter in place: go inside, close doors and windows, turn off the air conditioning, put a wet towel under the door if it's bad, wait for the all-clear from the same source. Don't drive toward it, don't go pick up the kids — the schools shelter too and they're better at it than the road is. Worried level: do what the alert says, then it's over.

Lights in the sky

Helicopters over the plants are inspections and crew changes. A column of black smoke with no flare is a fire and the county will be talking about it within minutes. Orange sky at 3 a.m. is a startup flare on the clouds. A very bright white light that doesn't move is a work-light tower on a turnaround.

The number

The CAER line — 281-476-2237 — is the industry's recorded message about what's happening at the plants right now. It's updated during an event and it's the fastest honest source there is. Save it in the phone under "plants."

Sign up

Baytown Alert (the city), ReadyHarris (Harris County), ChambersWARNS (Chambers County). All three; the plants straddle the county line and each system covers a different fence. Links on this page. Add your kids' school to the list, too; they send their own.

What this page does

When something happens, this page updates with what's known, from the CAER line, the county, and the company notice, with the time. The date at the top tells you how fresh it is. If it's from last month, it was quiet.

En español

¿Qué fue eso? Una antorcha (flare) en una chimenea es un sistema de seguridad, casi nunca una emergencia. Un estallido suele ser un alivio de presión o el patio de trenes. Un olor a azufre con viento del sur es la refinería; si le arden los ojos, entre y llame. Una sirena de prueba tiene horario fijo; la real llega con un mensaje de texto: entre, cierre puertas y ventanas, apague el aire, espere la señal de fin. La línea CAER: 281-476-2237. Regístrese en Baytown Alert, ReadyHarris y ChambersWARNS.