4 workers hurt, 400 residents evacuated after explosion, fire at Washington natural gas plant

A line of emergency vehicles line a roadway in sight of the Williams Northwest Pipeline plant in the distance today in Plymouth, Wash.

PLYMOUTH, Wash. — Authorities now say one of the four injured in an explosion and fire at a natural gas processing plant along the Washington-Oregon border was sent to a hospital in Portland, Ore., with burns.

The other three were treated for minor injuries at a hospital in Hermiston, Ore.

Monday morning’s blast at the Williams Northwest Pipeline liquefied natural gas facility in the town of Plymouth, Wash., shook nearby homes and led to the evacuation of about 400 residents.

A deputy says the evacuation could last overnight.

Benton County, Wash., Sheriff Steven Keane says plans call for sending up a helicopter for a better look at the damage to the plant.

Keane says a Washington State Patrol bomb squad robot equipped with video also will be sent in, because of safety concerns.