Official: Chevron Refinery Fire Contained, But Still Burning

An oil fire at Chevron’s largest U.S. refinery was mostly contained about two hours after it started, a company official said Thursday. But a large plume of black smoke could still be seen over the Mississippi coast.

“It’s essentially under control at this point,” Chevron spokesman Steve Renfroe told the Associated Press shortly after 4 p.m. CDT. “There’s no reports of injuries and everyone’s accounted for. There was never any danger to the community and we’ll investigate.”


Jackson County government spokesman Ken Flanagan said there was one minor injury, but Renfroe could not confirm that. Flanagan said he was relaying information provided by company officials.

The facility is one of the top 10 petroleum refineries in the United States and has been operating on the Mississippi coast since 1963, according to the company’s Web site.

The fire started about 2:15 p.m. CDT. About 4 p.m., a huge billow of black smoke was visible over the Gulf of Mexico.

AP