A massive explosion at the Chevron oil refinery in Los Angeles set off an inferno that rocked the city overnight.
People living nearby reported hearing a huge blast “like a small earthquake”, at around 9.35pm, with the fireball appearing to set several more areas of the refinery ablaze.
Firefighters rapidly responded to the incident, with the refinery located close to LAX, the busiest airport in California.
Officials in El Segundo, an area south west of central LA, where the fire erupted, urged people to stay indoors and close their windows.
El Segundo Mayor Chris Pimentel praised the emergency services while saying he was “very concerned” about the incident.
“We were able to respond to the Chevron fire immediately, our station is about a .25 miles away from the gates of Chevron,” Pimentel said. “Obviously, we are very concerned, and there is a lot of investigative work to be done to see what has happened.”
Live feeds showed the fire continuing to burn for several hours.
“I was walking my dog and the entire sky lit up like it was daytime,” one witness wrote on X. “People are crowding the streets watching the blaze”
Later in the night Chevron confirmed there had been no reported injuries at the El Segundo Refinery, with all personnel accounted for, adding that monitoring indicated the fire remained within the facility's fence line.
LAX airport said the fire had not impacted flights into or out of the airport.
In a statement issued late last night officials said there was no immediate threat to public safety and no evacuations had been ordered.
LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell told CBS News that fire crews contained the blaze to one area of the refinery, but warned the fire would most likely affect air quality in El Segundo and surrounding cities.
South Coast Air Quality Management District said it had not yet recorded elevated levels of toxins, but said conditions could change.
"We're currently not seeing any elevated particulate matter or air toxins," said Nahal Mogharabi, assistant deputy of communications for AQMD. "That may change as the smoke settles,” she said.
The refinery, constructed in 1911, is capable of refining 290,000 barrels of crude oil per day into highly volatile products including gasoline, jet and diesel fuels, making it the largest such facility on the U.S. west coast.
Chevron’s statement did not say what caused the fire.
California Governor Gavin Newsom's office said it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with state and local authorities to protect the surrounding community.
