A significant explosion and fire broke out at Chevron’s El Segundo oil refinery in Los Angeles County on Thursday night, causing an enormous orange blaze visible from miles away. The crash occurred around 10 PM PST. Chevron’s fire department and local emergency services, including large specially trained police and fire departments, were on the scene in minutes.
Chevron’s El Segundo refinery, located right next to Los Angeles airport. It is one of the biggest refineries in the U.S. west coast, with a 290,000 barre/day crude oil refining capacity. The facility mainly refines gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.
Once other emergency services arrived on the scene, they took charge of the situation. Sadly, there have been no reported injuries due to the explosion and later fire.
“All refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for and there are no injuries,” – Chevron
When Governor Gavin Newsom learned of the Governor’s briefing, he became alarmed at the threat to public safety. As part of this process, his office is actively working with local and state law enforcement agencies to protect the safety of the surrounding community.
“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
As the fire continued to burn for days Chevron released public statements that no evacuation orders were given for residents near the incident. On the ground in East Chicago, local monitoring systems at the facility reported no exceedances ever detected by their fence line monitoring system.
This incident has attracted an unprecedented level of media attention. Getty Images provided visual storytelling, and the LA Times covered the story in-depth. The response efforts by Chevron and local emergency responders show that these companies and agencies are prepared to ensure public safety during such emergencies.