Chevron El Segundo Refinery Fire Contained, No Injuries

A massive explosion and fire tore through Chevron’s El Segundo refinery Thursday night, just after 9:30 p.m., producing towering flames, a fireball, thick smoke and loud rumbling visible for miles near LAX. Chevron and emergency officials said all personnel and contractors were accounted for and no injuries were reported. Crews contained the blaze to a section of the large West Coast refinery (which refines roughly 276,000–290,000 barrels per day) by early Friday, although some flames and smoke remained and responders continued to battle intense heat and flammable chemicals. Authorities briefly ordered a shelter-in-place for nearby Manhattan Beach, imposed road closures, advised residents to keep windows and doors closed, and conducted fence-line air-quality monitoring that reported no toxic exceedances. Local and state officials, including LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, coordinated the response while investigators work to determine the cause.