A massive fire was seen erupting at the Chevron oil refinery in Los Angeles on Thursday night, forcing residents to shelter in place following the suspected explosion.
Residents from California shared online how they felt a strong blast come from Chevron’s refinery in El Segundo, California, at about 9:30 pm, as confirmed by the LA Times.
‘I really thought that we were getting nuked or something!’- Mark Rodgers mentioned to the adult, adding how his adult soccer league match in Redondo Beach was cancelled a few moments later.
This was due to heavy smoke arising from the blaze nearly 6 miles away. Footage and pictures shared through social media showed giant balls of flames coming into the Southern California night sky.
‘This was 300-foot flames’ – he shared and also feared that perhaps there might be a plane crash or an earthquake or perhaps both at the same time due to the sheer amount of smoke arising in the sky.
Officers and firefighters were seen responding to the Chevron refinery in El Segundo after getting multiple reports of an explosion, the police shared to the media. Meanwhile, Manhattan Beach fire officials put out a shelter-in-place order for three hours after the fire broke out.