Massive fire erupts at Chevron refinery just outside of Los Angeles

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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.

Officials in El Segundo, California, urged people to stay indoors. By early Friday, the fire was contained and there was no threat to public safety, the city said in a statement. No evacuations had been ordered.

“There is still an active fire and road closures remain in place,” it said.

Residents near the Chevron El Segundo Refinery described feeling a rumble, then they saw the flames.

“Pretty much the whole sky was orange,” said Sam Daugherty, who told KABC-TV he lives 10 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 said in a statement late Thursday, adding that a monitoring system indicated the fire did not move beyond the facility’s fence line. The statement did not say what caused the fire.

The El Segundo police and fire departments did not immediately comment on the fire, which appeared to have erupted suddenly.

LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell told KCAL-TV that fire crews had contained the blaze to one section of the refinery.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with state and local authorities to protect the surrounding community.

El Segundo is a beachside city located about a mile (1.6 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 said.

A shelter-in-place order for nearby Manhattan Beach south of El Segundo was lifted Friday.

No immediate air pollution problems were detected. An air quality index map Friday showed good levels for the Los Angeles area, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The refinery covers roughly 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) and has more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) of pipelines, according to the company’s website. The refinery, which has been in operation since 1911, can refine up to 290,000 barrels of crude oil per day, including gasoline, jet and diesel fuels, according to the company's website.

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Golden reported from Seattle.