El Segundo was born by oil. The massive refinery fire leaves residents rattled

LOS ANGELES — The city of El Segundo could not be more tied to the oil refinery that is a hulking presence in the seaside city.

In 1911, the Standard Oil Co. designated the site as home to its second refinery, and El Segundo (Spanish for “the second”) was born.

Over the decades, the refinery and the city have coexisted, mostly without drama. Chevron, the oil giant that now owns the refinery, looms over the suburb of 16,000, whose prime location on the beach and close to LAX had made it a choice residential and business address.

Thursday’s massive explosion brought minutes of terror to residents who live in parts of El Segundo and Manhattan Beach, as fire lighted up the night sky. Even though the fire died down and officials said there were no injuries and little damage to speak of, some residents said Thursday was a wake-up call.

By Friday morning, residents appeared to be getting back to daily life — walks with dogs, chats with neighbors. But one topic kept coming up.

Construction crews were back to building a housing development project at Alma and Rosecrans Avenue in Manhattan Beach.

Residents there strolled past shops with a cup of coffee in one hand and leashed pets in the other. Cyclists made their way along Vista del Mar.

In El Segundo, crews were repairing roads, pruning trees, schools were in session. But on occasion, as the wind died down, a light scent of rubber made its way through the air.

Residents here say fire explosions are a concern but even more so are the odors they can’t see. Walking her Chihuahua, Fendi, near the refinery, 38-year-old Nevada Solis said she didn’t hear about the fire until the morning.

She said her only concern had been the airborne toxins that the refinery may release into the air.

She said after she moved to this small coastal city five years ago, she began to get headaches.

“Sometimes the air doesn’t smell right,” she said.

Resident Jerry Pacheco, 42, was watering his grass Friday at his apartment complex that sits a block away from the refinery near El Segundo Boulevard and Virginia Street. He said on occasion when he’s outside there’s an odor that smells like methane that comes from the refinery.

“If I get low enough, there will be a waft of methane,” he said. “It’s like gas hugging the grass.”

The refinery produces approximately one-fifth of all motor vehicle fuels and 40% of the jet fuel consumed in Southern California. Local officials said the blast, while dramatic, did not pose a threat to the public, and emergency workers from both local cities and Chevron were able to quickly get the situation under control. Officials said there were no injuries or damage to the city. However, at least one worker claimed in a lawsuit filed Friday that he was injured in the fire, though the suit did not include specifics.

The blaze originated in a processing unit in the southeast corner of the refinery. The cause was unclear and under investigation. David Campbell, field director with USW Local 675, said the fire broke out in the refinery’s Isomax complex, which converts gas oil into higher-value products such as jet fuel.

Angela Bisland, 45, was at home with her three children, ages 13, 12 and 8, when their evening was interrupted by a loud explosion that shook their home that sits near the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard.

“You hear car crashes all the time,” she said. “I was not prepared for that kind of noise.”

Startled, Bisland went outside to check what had happened.

“That’s when I saw that it was on fire,” she said of the Chevron refinery.

Bisland told her children to put their shoes on before she grabbed the dog and evacuated their Manhattan Beach neighborhood. She said her neighbors also evacuated.

Bisland said she drove south and pulled in a random parking lot in Torrance until it was safe to return.

She said the explosion and fire had shaken her 8-year-old boy, who feared that fire could jump into the neighborhood.

Outside the neighborhood, news helicopters hovered above the facility as Bisland and several of her friends went on an afternoon walk.

Bisland said she’s lived at her home for the last five years and had never experienced anything like what happened Thursday night.

She said that while she has environmental and health concerns about the refinery, for the most part she said she doesn’t feel unsafe living across from Chevron.

Steve Pugh was taking an afternoon walk near 35th street and Palm Avenue, a block away from the Chevron refinery, stopping briefly to talk to a television news reporter.

Pugh said his home shook when the explosion at the refinery occurred.

“It was a big blast.”

Pugh said he checked on his partner, hoping that she hadn’t fallen, but she was already outdoors, looking at the massive flames flickering into the night sky.

Pugh said he heard hissing before the explosion and then a roaring sound similar to a freight train that lasted for about 30 minutes. Pugh has lived in Manhattan Beach for 75 years and has only witnessed burn offs from the flare stacks of the refinery.

Pugh said he feels relatively safe living next to the refinery that sits about six blocks from his home. Asked if he had any health concerns regarding air quality, he said he checked a local agency air-quality app before stepping outdoors.

“It was all green,” he said.