Chevron Oil Refinery Catches Fire Over San Francisco Bay

Residents of the area are being advised to stay inside and to seal their homes with whatever they can until the smoke from the fire is contained.

1. At 6:15 PM Pacific time a fire broke out at the Chevron Oil Refinery in Richmond, California

Image by D. ROSS CAMERON / AP

2. At 8:39 PM an amber alert was issued to all residents in the region advising them to seal up their homes and take shelter.

Source: hoyhoy

RESIDENTS IN RICHMOND. NORTH RICHMOND AND SAN PABLO. ARE ADVISED TO SHELTER IN PLACE. GO INSIDE. CLOSE ALL WINDOWS AND DOORS. TURN OFF ALL HEATERS. AIR CONDITIONERS AND FANS. IF NOT USING THE FIREPLACE. CLOSE FIREPLACE DAMPERS AND VENTS. AND COVER CRACKS AROUND DOORS AND WINDOWS WITH TAPE OR DAMPED TOWELS. MEDIA NEWS NETWORKS WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY UPDATED EMERGENCY INFORMATION. STAY OFF THE TELEPHONE UNLESS YOU HAVE A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY.

Via: wxamberalert.blogspot.com

4. The fire burned for more than two and a half hours after the refinery’s crude oil unit erupted.

Image by JOSH EDELSON / Reuters

5. The eruption spread smoke from the crude oil fire over both Richmond and the neighboring San Pablo.

Image by Eric Risberg / AP

6. The biggest concern are chemicals found in the large black plumes of smoke coming from the factory.

Image by Brad Zweerink / AP

Crude oil is a mixture of a wide variety of constituents. It consists primarily of hydrocarbons, which are chemicals composed of hydrogen and carbon. Crude oil also contains hundreds of substances that include benzene, chromium, iron, mercury, nickel, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, toluene, and xylene. Total petroleum hydrocarbons is a term used to describe the several hundred chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil.

Via: toxtown.nlm.nih.gov

Helpful RT @radicalbytes Residents warned "not to breath the air" in Richmond California because of massive oil fire at #Chevron refinery.

— Michele Simon JD MPH (@MicheleRSimon) August 7, 2012

#Chevron spokesperson: Diesel leak ignited and caused the fire, it was a small leak at first, then it grew bigger.

— abc7newsBayArea (@abc7newsBayArea) August 7, 2012

#BREAKING: Can see the smoke from #Chevron refinery fire for miles! yfrog.com/nyg3nnxj

— Sandhya Patel (@SandhyaABC7) August 7, 2012

Source: a.yfrog.com

There's a massive fire at a Chevron refinery in Richmond (across bay from SF). Officials are telling residents to close & *tape* windows.

— Joshua Holland (@JoshuaHol) August 7, 2012

EMERGENCY AT CHEVRON REFINERY! Richmond & San Pablo residents urged to shelter in place. Seal windows & door instagr.am/p/OAktAUslhz/

— STRAWBERRY (@STRAWBERRYradio) August 7, 2012

Via: instagram.com