A second explosion in less than 24 hours rocked a burning underground gas storage facility early today, prompting authorities to expand an evacuation zone around the site. The fire at Duke Energy's Moss Bluff natural-gas facility intensified overnight, an official said. The second explosion was seen as far as 33 kilometers away. No injuries were reported. Authorities had decided to let the fire that was ignited in the first explosion Thursday to burn itself out, a process they said would take several days. The first explosion was blamed on leaking gas. The second explosion today happened because the fire caused a valve on top of the storage cavern to fail, said Duke Energy spokesman Danny Gibbs. Everyone within a five-kilometer radius of the facility is being evacuated, and additional shelters are being set up, authorities said. Thursday's explosion had prompted evacuations within a smaller radius in the sparsely populated area about 65 kilometers northeast of Houston.
