Massive fire breaks out at Chevron refinery near Los Angeles

EL SEGUNDO Calif AP A fire broke out at a Chevron oil refinery just outside Los Angeles on Thursday night sending towering flames into the air that were visible for miles Representatives in El Segundo California urged people to stay indoors By early Friday the fire was contained and there was no threat to constituents safety the city stated in a comment No evacuations had been ordered There is still an progressing fire and road closures remain in place it declared Residents near the Chevron El Segundo Refinery described feeling a rumble then they saw the flames Pretty much the whole sky was orange reported Sam Daugherty who advised KABC-TV he lives blocks away and began packing a bag in a panic There were no injuries at the refinery and all personnel were accounted for the company announced in a report late Thursday adding that a monitoring system indicated the fire did not move beyond the facility s fence line The message did not say what caused the fire The El Segundo police and fire departments did not forthwith comment on the fire which appeared to have erupted suddenly LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell recounted KCAL-TV that fire crews had contained the blaze to one section of the refinery California Gov Gavin Newsom s office noted it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with state and local government to protect the surrounding group El Segundo is a beachside city located about a mile kilometers south of Los Angeles International Airport LA Mayor Karen Bass wrote in a post on X that there was no known impact to the airport LAFD stands at the ready to assist with any mutual aid request she declared A shelter-in-place order for nearby Manhattan Beach south of El Segundo was lifted Friday No immediate air garbage problems were detected An air quality index map Friday indicated good levels for the Los Angeles area according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District The refinery covers roughly square miles square kilometers and has more than miles kilometers of pipelines according to the company s website The refinery which has been in operation since can refine up to barrels of crude oil per day including gasoline jet and diesel fuels according to the company s website