Smoke was seen Thursday afternoon coming from the Massey test site, the area where a Starship rocket exploded the night before. 

The road leading up to it has bene closed since the explosion that many people — including Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño — felt.

“I think it caught a lot of people off guard because we weren't expecting it,” Treviño said. 

Treviño said he is now looking into how he can best alert the community ahead of future tests.

"What we’re gonna try to maybe figure out with them is, they test fairly regularly — maybe even on a daily basis,” Treviño said. “And because we're not having the closures, they don't necessarily advise us, but I think that's what caught everyone off guard."

Engineering teams are investigating after an explosion at the Starbase facility led to the complete loss of the Starship vehicle, SpaceX said in a news release.

The explosion happened Wednesday at around 11 p.m. after Starship completed a single-engine static fire.

“The vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a six-engine static fire when a sudden energetic event resulted in the complete loss of Starship and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand," SpaceX said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. “The explosion ignited several fires at the test site which remains clear of personnel and will be assessed once it has been determined to be safe to approach. Individuals should not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.”

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There were no reported injuries, and all personnel are safe and accounted for, SpaceX added.

Environmentalists are concerned about the impact the explosion may have had on the surrounding area.

“I'm very fearful for what the impacts on that surrounding refuge land was. I’m hoping that people head out there today or tomorrow to analyze that,” Jim Chapman, a board member of Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, said. 

According to Chapman, the Massey testing site is surrounded by wildlife refuge land.

“I think the first thing that needs to happen is they need to do an environmental analysis of what the impacts are, and will be if they continue doing that testing on the surrounding refuge land,” Chapman said.

Video provided to Channel 5 News by Conibio Global A.C. — an environmental group based out of Matamoros, Tamaulipas — shows what the group says is debris from the Starship explosion on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

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The SpaceX statement says materials inside the Starship do not pose any chemical, biological, or toxicological risks. 

“SpaceX is coordinating with local, state, and federal agencies, as appropriate, on matters concerning environmental and safety impacts,” the company added.

Watch the video above for the full story.