Public sentiment regarding the Chevron refinery explosion is predominantly negative, characterized by distrust in corporate accountability and concerns about rising gas prices. While some commenters expressed relief over the absence of injuries, there remains significant frustration about environmental risks and the effectiveness of government regulations. The incident has sparked suspicion regarding potential ulterior motives behind the explosion, with a strong call for accountability from Chevron.

Chevron

California Government

This sucks for numerous reasons, chief among them is that there will be no CSB video of the root cause.

GerryC

Rule of thumb, if you can see clearly defined flames and hear the roar of said flames from the car park...you're probably closer than you should be. Especially if you don't actually know what parts of the refinery are on fire. Remember folks, physics dictates that an explosive shock wave moves outwards as well as upwards. Just cos you're not on fire doesn't mean you're safe!

Welshgirlie2

jaroftoejam

El Segundo was “the second” refinery built on the coast, and how it got its name. (So I’ve been told)

Had2CryToday

64590949354397548569

Well, that's one way to exit the refinery business in california...

MikeyG916

I can't wait to see the safety board's video on this.

  
Oh, wait...

Totgaff

Based on the public information:
The part of the refinery where the fire occurred was the Isomax, which converts the middle part of a barrel of oil to what is predominantly jet fuel for aircraft.
The unit uses hydrogen and high temperature reactions to "crack" heavier oil fractions into lighter materials.
To achieve a high enough temperature for the reaction, the material runs through an LPG/ Nat Gas fired furnace, where the pipes are exposed to a series of flames.
The photos/ videos show a hole in the top of this furnace. The most likely cause is a split pipe inside the furnace, which then poured extra fuel directly onto the existing flame. Tube ruptures in a furnace are a known issue. Poor corrosion management, poor flame management, or loss of liquid flow through the pipe can cause a rupture.

Once broken, putting the fire out isn't the focus. Keep everything nearby cool, reduce the pressure in the equipment that is feeding the fire by venting it to the flare stacks (the big fires high up on the edge of the plant), then let the remaining material burn out.

Repairing this will take weeks to months. The pipes inside the furnace will be wrecked and are often exotic metallurgy. The refractory in the furnace will need fixing. The outer skin will need welding back together. Things will need inspecting for damage. New cabling and conduit and sensors will be needed.

Gas prices aren't as big a concern as the issues for LAX, since a significant amount of jet production will have been lost. How easy this is to source and import from elsewhere via Long Beach or other locations I don't know.

IsItPorneia

cycleguychopperguy

Chrisdkn619

Dang heard about this earlier, video looks crazy

immoraltoast

I grew up here in the 80s and we used to have an emergency drill for this, where we taped the doors shut

IHartRed

Anyone running the odds this is an accident versus sabotage?

_jams

Careful_Weekend

richard_stank

Great video but I would be running and getting far away.

hey2245

Can't wait for gas prices in California going up by a dollar a gallon.

JimDandy_ToTheRescue

yeah but those EV battery fires tho rite?*

eagleapex

meabbott

doublejay1999

ScreechersReach206

LokeyCoolio

stryker511

Why does this place catch fire every year?

ultradip

PreludeTilTheEnd

thrust-johnson

Well, so much for trump’s $1.98 a gallon gas…

NotDazedorConfused

Reasonable-Discourse

justboozer

Is this one of the refinery's that was going to shut down? If not socal is going to have a shortage of petroleum products.

Able_Philosopher4188

DreadManSurvives

Guess the wallet's gone now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WILyWmT2A-Q

ProfanestOfLemons

Can't wait for the CSB video in a year or two.

AVeryHeavyBurtation

mrshulgin

Deer-in-Motion

California is the last place you’d want a giant fireball. 🔥

buttononmyback

moonunit67

TheOzarkWizard

Not a problem. California wants to be rid of them anyway.

Griggle_facsimile

I'm willing to wager russia is involved somehow. 

It's not like they haven't attempted numerous attacks across Europe in the last 3 years, including a plot that was busted in Poland just this week

Phil_Coffins_666

Those Ukrainian drones are really going far.

justintime329

TickleMePickle33

iddrinktothat

That's 16% of California's total gas refining capacity...

California's Oil Refineries [https://share.google/zQp1Pb1o9fBx70gkj](https://share.google/zQp1Pb1o9fBx70gkj)

https://preview.redd.it/g367hwm2wtsf1.png?width=960&amp;format=png&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=ea1739a1b2595fb78fa71100e184c34932f69354

taco_the_mornin

https://preview.redd.it/2rf16bsfttsf1.jpeg?width=3024&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=97a45c959268f665884959412c33d4291bec5ad4

view from palms!

That_Crow8321

I was skateboarding the bike path on the SM beach and saw it go. Thought it was LAX at first. Crazy.

Theamazingsupernoob

I work down the street from it. Entire building shook, red light flashing, I could feel the heat from the flames outside. First time I’ve ever had to contact management about potentially evacuating a sold-out hotel if things got out of control. 

Edit: to address a couple of comments, we never received any shelter-in-place notices or alerts; I called 911 multiple times (busy signal) and when I got through after 10 minutes, was told they couldn’t tell me anything; any smoke seen was traveling due east or northeast from vantage point, so we didn’t have any odors/scents, air quality at the time was unknown.

Most guests were out at events and didn’t come back until after it was mostly under control (10pm), many of them joking about it. I did assure everyone I had protocol in case we had to evacuate.

daven_callings

bentreflection

ThinkSoftware

Yikes!  I wonder what happened!  Sounds terrible!

CatCafffffe

https://preview.redd.it/5spgci28cusf1.jpeg?width=4032&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=b1e916e23e7852ef5e8444c19c27c8db21b544bb

United-Variation2172

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/large-fire-erupts-at-los-angeles-county-refinery/

sector9love

https://preview.redd.it/t4wox1ox7usf1.jpeg?width=1290&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=282a0426aec5df36910cd1bcc01c7a66264d853e

Shelter in place order just came through for zones MAN-001 &amp; MAN-009 for next 3 hours. Lived here 30 years and this is a first. Hope no one at the plant was hurt during this incident.

vrgogrl7

dancingbrunette

Good thing we're defunding all of those totally unsafe renewable woke electricity sources!

WaterdropGirl

Isn't this the same plant that blew up in 2022? Yikes.

Can't wait to see the USCSB animation on this a few years later on YouTube.

TheTrashBulldog

https://www.youtube.com/live/MjD3gnNFYUo?si=86H6R7-g7U-bSr_C

9:31pm you see the moment the Chevron Refinery erupts in El Segundo. This is a live feed of LAX that follows arrivals and departures.  Filmed looking south across Runway 25.

Edit: thank you for time stamp assist, as stated, it is a bit of an obscured angle, but to my knowledge this is the only video showing the initial fire.  The following footage covers subsequent landings and take offs with a pretty astonishing backdrop.  I am imagining being a pilot or passenger for that matter and seeing this upon arrival as being unnerving, to say the least.   

EveryEmu1886

Glad I filled up today. Hold onto your wallets people!

And to be serious, I hope everyone is safe and fingers crossed for no injuries. That’s scary stuff

anothercar

found the live feed [https://youtube.com/live/80qSWlkG-og?feature=share](https://youtube.com/live/80qSWlkG-og?feature=share)

StrengthUseful1041

Jesus my SIL works nights there. I just read no one was hurt but fuck man. 

Ok_Midnight_5457

The air quality gonna be dangerous in the area. Wear your masks.

LosIngobernable

That's what that boom was..... no joke I heard that from West Hollywood

KirenSensei

Do oil refineries outside of LA explode this frequently or does it just seem like ours have a particular habit of blowing up or causing problems?

sistersara96

this begins the refinery wars. damn. I was worried this was going to start happening over here.

nshire

god this looks awful, i hope everyone stays safe

itsmemrmeseeksssssss

https://preview.redd.it/au8uz9iiuusf1.jpeg?width=3024&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=278c44f1275b6f05ed5e477741a2d57d3224e810

I was walking around el segundo when I turned and saw this insane glow over the hill.

ichabodplundermonger

passenger1010011

Looks like I picked a good month to buy an electric car

MustEatTacos

Another (bigger?) thread/post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/s/wghgpu6fKY

BobSki778

Haldron-44

Live coverage: https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/live/

JustSomeCaliDude

ItsMehRuby

I was just leaving Joey Manhattan beach when this happened. I thought it was a plane crash at first. Everyone in the area bolted though! Hope everyone in the area made it home safely!

betterthanluck

WestOccult

Accomplished-Sun-797

showmiaface

Prob why having refineries near heavily populated areas might not be the smartest thing.

Amazing-Bag

I can’t believe the Biden solar panels did this to the oil refinery!

SkyeMreddit

My cousin works there at the plant. It blew up 500ft away from him.

PitifulBoysenberry45

MusesWithWine

Dont breath it in stay in doors. This happened in San Pedro in the 90s. Cause alot of cancer cases ... use class action lawsuit for everyone for miles arpund the place

meat-ring

So how fucked is the air on the west side going to be from this?

CurbYerGod

i work at topgolf across the street from this, saw the fireball, heard and felt the explosion, had to evac hundreds of people, scary shit dude

Leading-Web8786

Every time I parked in El Segundo a pink residue would cover the car. It was from the refinery. No doubt the locals are breathing in that shit.

applegui

Rainbow4Bronte

SwedishTrees

[deleted]

"It has been contained and there is no cause for alarm for El Segundo or the surrounding areas," Mitchell said. 

Mitchell advised residents that the fire would most likely affect air quality in El Segundo and surrounding cities, but the South Coast Air Quality Management District said it had not noticed any elevated levels of toxins, though it noted conditions could change.

elcubiche

29575

Chevron released a statement calling it an “isolated fire” and that “all refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for and there are no injuries.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-02/la-me-fire-refinery

joemountain8k

I can’t wait to hear how the radical left is to blame for this

cav63

Pretty convenient Chevron announced last year they were leaving California which was going to take 5 years to transition.  Now a random fire breaks out?  Get that insurance money and leave early huh?

BlackHoleWhiteDwarf

A perfect example of why toxic oil refineries shouldn't be near any cities or homes.

Pasadenaian

and gas prices shoot up in 3-2...yeah, they're already up -1

USSSLostTexter

Sea-Imagination1573

Time to replace with Nuclear Power! We always have fires here, but we never a major nuclear incident! Clearly nuclear power is 100000000000x safer!&gt;!seriously tho why dont we have a nuclear plant in California City? It would power all of LA!&lt;

imnowherebenice

SanDiegoThankYou_

https://preview.redd.it/5ffk7zy55wsf1.jpeg?width=612&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=0445dcf9ce1bfed92ec86419fa0cb169d2c97f6c

View from space (I’m on the iss right now)

Sonar_Bandit

Toxic cancer factories should be shut down

recordcollection64

Newsom allowed an early switch to the winter gas mix, signed another bill today that allows E15, signed a bill last week that will.allow more drilling in Kern County, plus global oil prices have been dropping. We all knew it was a matter of time before Chevron blew up their refinery to keep gas prices high.

SauteedGoogootz

A massive explosion at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, California, resulted in towering flames but no injuries, prompting an investigation into the cause.

Chevron Refinery Explosion El Segundo

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want