EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (NEXSTAR) — A fire erupted at a Chevron oil refinery near Los Angeles on Thursday night, sending large flames into the sky that could be seen for miles.
Authorities in El Segundo, California, advised residents to stay inside. By early Friday, the fire was contained and posed no risk to public safety, the city reported in a statement. No evacuation orders were issued.
“There is still an active fire and road closures remain in place,” it said.
There were no reported injuries at the Chevron El Segundo Refinery, and all staff members were accounted for, according to a company statement on Thursday night. The statement mentioned that a monitoring system confirmed the fire did not extend beyond the facility’s boundary. The cause of the fire was not disclosed.
The refinery, situated at 324 West El Segundo Boulevard, has its own fire department that managed to contain the fire and stop it from spreading within the industrial site by using remote-controlled water lines to extinguish the flames.
The El Segundo police and fire departments did not immediately comment on the fire, which appeared to have erupted suddenly.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced that it was observing the situation and working with state and local agencies to safeguard the surrounding community.
Officials from Pepperdine University, which maintains a west L.A. campus a little over five miles from the refinery, stated they were keeping track of the incident and noted that flames could be seen from the university’s Malibu campus over 20 miles away.
El Segundo is a beachside city located about a mile south of the 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.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
