Another fire engulfed Los Angeles when a huge fire broke out at the Chevron Products Company refinery in El Segundo, California, on Thursday night. The blaze erupted suddenly around 9:30 p.m. The intensity of the blaze led to people living miles away seeing the sky turn orange.
Residents described a terrifying scene. “I thought we got nuked or something,” Mike Rogers told the Los Angeles Times. His neighbor, Keith Mohr, who lives in Manhattan Beach just south of the refinery, said, “This was 300-foot flames. I didn’t know if a plane crashed or there was an earthquake or both.”
The fire led to multiple emergency calls as the El Segundo Police Department confirmed receiving numerous reports of an explosion. Photos and videos soon circulated, which showed flames shooting into the sky from the refinery.
It should be noted here that despite the blast’s intensity, it did not cause any massive harm to the residents. El Segundo Mayor Chris Pimentel confirmed late Thursday that all refinery staff had been accounted for and that the fire did not spread beyond the refinery’s grounds. “The cause of the fire remains unclear,” he added during his interview with KCAL.
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The city of Manhattan Beach, located about two miles away, issued a temporary shelter-in-place order that lasted until around 2 a.m. Officials have advised people to stay indoors to avoid any possible exposure to smoke and fumes.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell reported that the blaze had been contained to one section of the refinery. Still, Mitchell warned that the incident could temporarily affect air quality in the area.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city’s fire department was monitoring the emergency closely and remained ready to step in. California Governor Gavin Newsom also released a statement assuring residents that the state was coordinating in real time with local officials.
“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 shared on X.
The El Segundo refinery has long been a central piece of Southern California’s oil infrastructure. First opened in 1911 under the Standard Oil Company of California, it has operated under the Chevron name since 1984.
Chevron has not yet released details about the possible cause of the explosion and fire. The company also did not provide a timeline for when operations at the facility may resume.
California has been grappling with fire-related disasters throughout the year. Earlier in January, nearly three dozen people lost their lives in wildfires that devastated parts of the state.
