TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say flames seen at a Southern California refinery early Tuesday were due to a safety procedure following a power outage.
Torrance Fire Department Capt. Steve Deuel tells City News Service that the ExxonMobil refinery lost power around midnight and it was restored within 30 minutes.
Deuel says restarting several production units often causes large visible flaring as incomplete hydrocarbon products are cleared from the system.
The fire captain says air quality monitoring revealed no unsafe vapors left the refinery at ground level, and there were no injuries or evacuations.
