Massive fire breaks out at Chevron oil refinery in California

Massive fire breaks out at Chevron oil refinery in California


An aerial view of Chevron crews attempting to extinguish a large fire and explosion that occurred at Chevron Refinery in El Segundo Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.

Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

A huge fire broke out on Thursday night at a Chevron oil refinery in California, one of the largest on the U.S. west coast, following reports of an explosion.

No injuries were reported from the incident at the El Segundo plant, Chevron said on Friday, with the U.S. energy major’s fire department personnel and emergency services “actively responding” to the situation.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze.

“All refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for and there are no injuries,” Chevron said in a statement, according to NBC.

“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,” the company added.

The El Segundo oil refinery is capable of refining 290,000 barrels of crude oil per day, Chevron says on its website, and its primary products are gasoline, jet and diesel.

People watch a fire burn at a Chevron refinery on October 2, 2025 in El Segundo, California. A big explosion around 10pm (PST) produced a large orange blaze that could be seen from miles away from the refinery close by the Los Angeles airport.

Apu Gomes | Getty Images News | Getty Images

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office said on Friday that the governor had been briefed on the incident at Chevron’s El Segundo oil refinery in Los Angeles County.

“Our office is coordinating in real time with local and state agencies to protect the surrounding community and ensure public safety,” Newsom’s press office said in a social media post.