A massive fire erupted at a Chevron oil refinery outside of Los Angeles on Thursday night, forcing residents to shelter in place following the suspected explosion.
Californians said they felt the blast come from Chevron’s refinery in El Segundo, Calif., at around 9:30 p.m., the Los Angeles Times reported.
“I thought we got nuked or something,” Mark Rogers told the outlet, saying his adult soccer league match in Redondo Beach was canceled moments later because of the heavy smoke coming from the blaze roughly 6 miles away.
Footage and images posted on social media captured giant balls of flames erupting into the Southern California night sky.
“This was 300-foot flames,” Kevin Mohr, who was in Manhattan Beach, told the outlet. “I didn’t know if a plane crashed or there was an earthquake or both.”
Officers and firefighters responded to the Chevron refinery in El Segundo after receiving multiple reports of an explosion, the El Segundo Police Department announced, according to KCAL News.
Manhattan Beach fire officials ordered a shelter in place for 3 hours after the blaze broke out, urging residents to close their windows and bring “all people and pets indoors.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who represents the City of El Segundo said the fire had been contained to one section of the refinery.
“It has been contained and there is no cause for alarm for El Segundo or the surrounding areas,” Mitchell told the outlet.
The 1,000-acre El Segundo facility, operated by Chevron, has its own fire department battling the blaze with assistance from the El Segundo Fire Department, KCAL News reported.
“We were able to respond with Chevron fire immediately, our station is about a .25 mile away from the gates of Chevron,” El Segundo Mayor Christ Pimentel told the outlet. “Obviously, we are very concerned, and there is a lot of investigative work to be done to see what has happened.”
The complex is sandwiched between two residential neighborhoods and on the Pacific coast.
Officials were monitoring air quality conditions and Mitchell advised residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on X that the LA Fire Department is standing by ready to assist the local first responders.
Operations at LAX were not impacted by the fire, 4 miles south of the airport, officials told KCAL News.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was briefed on the situation and is in contact with local authorities.
“Our office is coordinating in real time with local and state agencies to protect the surrounding community and ensure public safety,” Newsom’s press office said on X.
The El Segundo refinery was opened in 1911 under the Standard Oil Company of California, operating under the logo until 1984, when it changed its name to Chevron Corporation.
The refinery’s rated capacity is 290,000 barrels per day, and its main products are gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel, according to Chevron’s website. Its total storage capacity is 12.5 million barrels in about 150 major tanks.
Chevron briefly took the refinery offline in May before restarting operations a week later.
Fires have broken out at the centuries-old facility in the past, including in 2017.
A blaze after a pump failure at the refinery in the late evening of Oct. 17, 2017, but was quickly extinguished by firefighters, according to CBS News.
With Post wires
Read the full article here
