Massive fire erupts at Chevron refinery near Los Angeles

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — A massive 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. In a statement issued about 30 minutes after the flames began, they said there was no immediate threat to public safety and no evacuations had been ordered.

Authorities and Chevron have not said if anyone was injured nor what caused the fire, which appears to have erupted suddenly.

Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The El Segundo police and fire departments declined to comment.

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.

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.