A 9:30 p.m. Thursday Explosion in a Processing Unit Set Off the Blaze
Flames at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery were extinguished overnight after an explosion ignited a processing unit near the facility’s southeast corner around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, officials said. Chevron initiated an internal investigation into the cause, as city fire crews from El Segundo and Manhattan Beach supported the refinery’s on-site responders, which it announced in an alert.
All employees and contractors were accounted for, and no injuries were reported. Chevron said its Health, Safety, and Environmental team conducted mobile air monitoring in surrounding neighborhoods as a precaution. State and regional regulators, including Cal/OSHA, the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, were notified and are monitoring the incident. The company is also providing updates to the California Energy Commission.
Authorities cautioned that smoke could affect local air quality, though AQMD reported no elevated toxin readings at the time and noted conditions could change. Manhattan Beach officials issued a shelter-in-place advisory during the response; no evacuations were ordered. It was not immediately clear whether refinery operations or regional fuel prices would be affected.
The refinery spans roughly 1.5 square miles, includes more than 1,100 miles of pipelines, and has operated since 1911, according to company information. It can process up to 290,000 barrels of crude per day, producing gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel.
The facility has experienced several fires over the past decade, including a 2017 blaze that threatened storage tanks and a 2022 incident. University officials said the glow from Thursday’s fire was visible from Pepperdine’s Malibu campus more than 20 miles away. The college added that its West Los Angeles campus monitored the situation in a social media post.
