Residents described an unsettling scene and blast of heat when a large fire erupted Thursday night at the Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo and produced towering flames that could be seen for miles around the Los Angeles area.
Firefighters were still pouring water on the fire Friday morning, hours after residents said they felt a rumble from an explosion before flames cast an eerie orange glow over homes in the coastal South Bay community south of Los Angeles International Airport.
Deb Dipprey’s house has a direct line of sight from her porch to the refinery. She felt the explosion and could feel a blast of heat when she walked outside.
“We felt the house move,” said resident Deb Dipprey. “The windows shook. We heard the explosion and then the next thing, we felt the fire. The fire was really large and we could feel the heat.
“It was probably over 100 degrees on our porch.”
By Friday morning, the fire was contained as white smoke drifted over the area.
The cause of the explosion and fire at the oil processing plant is unknown and under investigation.
It was not immediately clear how the fire and its impact on refinery operations might impact fuel prices. Californians already pay the nation’s highest prices for gas. NBCLA has reached out the California Energy Commission for comment on possible consumer impacts.
A gallon of regular gas was priced Friday morning at $4.642 in California. The national average for a gallon of regular was $3.152.
No injuries were reported. Evacuations were not in effect, but authorities said they are monitoring air quality.
“All refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for and there are no injuries,” Allison Cook, a Chevron spokesperson, said in a statement. “No evacuation orders for area residents have been put in place by emergency response agencies monitoring the incident, and no exceedances have been detected by the facilities fence line monitoring system.”
Some residents reported hearing a loud bang before seeing the large orange glow coming from the active flames. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2025.
A shelter in place order issued for the nearby Manhattan Beach’s Tree Section neighborhood was lifted early Friday morning.
“I never ever fear anything. This (fire), I got in panic mode when I saw it,” a neighbor told NBC4. “It looked like about 7 to 10 football fields wide of a flame and smoke billowing in the air.”
The fire, confined to the refinery property, was still burning Friday morning, but contained, according to city officials. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said it was monitoring the situation.
“All roads have been reopened after last night’s Chevron fire,” The city of El Segundo posted Friday morning. “The fire is still burning but is contained at this time.”
The refinery’s on-site fire department and the El Segundo Fire Department train together in preparation for fires at the plant, said El Segundo Mayor Chris Pimentel.
The refinery covers roughly 1.5 square miles and has more than 1,100 miles 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 a day, including gasoline, jet and diesel fuels, according to the company’s website.
The refinery has more than a century of history in the seaside community. In 1911, when kerosene for lamps was in high demand, the location was selected as the site for Standard Oil Company’s second refinery in California.
The city was named El Segundo, “the second” in Spanish, in recognition of the refinery.
The company’s name was changed to Chevron Corporation in 1984.
There have been several fires at the refinery in the last decade, the latest in 2022. A fire in 2017 threatened storage tanks and sent huge flames into the sky before crews quickly smothered it. It did not burn near any of the facility’s main processing units, Chevron said.
Chevron was fined nearly $1 million by the state of California for a major fire in 2012 at a refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Allison Craig is a passionate sports writer and analyst with a deep love for game strategies, player performances, and the latest trends in the sports world. With years of experience covering football, basketball, tennis, and more, she delivers insightful analysis and engaging content for sports enthusiasts.
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