A fire shut down a major Chevron refinery in a city located north of San Francisco on Tuesday.
Thousands of Bay Area residents were told to stay indoors due to smoke emitted from the fire after a series of explosions were reported on Monday evening at the refinery’s No. 4 Crude Unit located in Richmond, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
All employees in the facility were evacuated safely and there were no fatalities.
“I heard a big boom ... then the alarms started going off,” Daniela Rodriguez, a 23-year-old local from Richmond, told the San Jose Mercury News.
She added, “I went into my backyard and could see a big, dark gray cloud. I saw it was coming from where the refinery is, so I told my mom to lock the windows.”
Gasoline prices spiked on Tuesday across California and could increase to more than $4 per gallon, reported the Mercury News. Spot prices for gas increased 34 cents in the Bay Area and 31 cents in Los Angeles.
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