Valero Refinery Fire in Benicia Is Under Control After Warnings to Stay Indoors

Updated 4:23 p.m.

A blaze that ignited Monday morning at Valero’s Benicia refinery was brought under control after sending large plumes of black smoke into the air for over an hour.

The fire, which firefighters responded to around 8:45 a.m., had been “placed under control” at 10:38 a.m., and shelter-in-place orders for nearby residents and Robert Semple Elementary School were lifted, the Benicia Fire Department said.

“Emergency personnel will remain on scene for clean up,” the department said in a Facebook post. “While there is particulate matter present, all other air monitoring is below health hazard levels.”

Fairfield, Vallejo and Contra Costa County firefighters also responded to the fire, which was mainly confined to a single structure in the refinery, the department said.

No injuries had been reported, it said. The cause of the blaze were still unclear.

Benicia Mayor Steve Young, speaking on KQED’s Forum on Monday about Valero’s recently announced plans to close the refinery, said safety officials had instructed people who live nearby to stay indoors.

Larnie Fox, who lives in Benicia about 3 miles from the refinery, said he was taking a walk around 9:15 a.m. when he first saw smoke “in the wrong place.” The wind was blowing a large black cloud directly toward town, he said.

“That’s about when we got the shelter-in-place order,” he said. “And that’s about when we decided to go have breakfast in Vallejo.”

Fox said some neighbors with allergies or asthma told him their symptoms were kicking up.

“We know that stuff’s dangerous,” he said. “I had skin cancer, my wife had breast cancer, so we don’t want to breathe any of that stuff.”

Air regulators and health officials are investigating the incident and using portable air monitors in the surrounding community to test for air pollution.

The Bay Area Air District issued an air quality advisory for smoke in southern Solano, northern Contra Costa, and northwestern Alameda counties, “specifically communities between I-80 and I-680 bridges (Martinez, Pacheco, Concord and Port Chicago),” the agency said, noting that communities as far south as Oakland could potentially feel the impact.

“Smoke from the fire contains fine particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. Exposure to smoke is unhealthy, even for short periods of time,” the agency said.

Although firefighters responded to the blaze within minutes, and the Benicia Fire Department posted a shelter-in-place alert soon thereafter, the county warning system didn’t alert residents until well after the fire had started because of a technical glitch, city officials told KQED.

Pat Toth, a Benicia resident who lives miles away from the refinery, said she didn’t receive any official text communications about the fire until about 10:30 a.m., more than 90 minutes after it started, even though she subscribes to various emergency alerts.

“We need much better notifications and information, and especially when it’s happening,” said Toth, who’s lived in the city for 25 years. “Even when I was driving away, I saw people walking outside and I thought, ‘Wow, should I open my window and tell people to run home?’”

County officials have not responded to a request for comment.

In January, residents were similarly impacted by a major refinery fire in Martinez, just across the Carquinez Strait.

Contra Costa health officials said Monday that they were sending a hazardous materials team to Martinez to monitor for any potential impacts from the Benicia fire.

The Benicia Fire Department said it had also requested drone air monitoring from the Solano County Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Valero said in a statement that emergency crews responded and are monitoring for air quality issues.

“The safety of our workers and community is our priority, and we are coordinating with state and local authorities,” the company said.

The fire comes just weeks after Valero executives announced they were considering closing the sprawling refinery by next April.

The refinery, which produces up to 145,000 barrels of crude oil a day, is the sixth largest in California, accounting for about 9% of the state’s total capacity.

Last year, regional and state air regulators fined the company a record $82 million for secretly exceeding toxic emissions standards for at least 15 years. And in March, Benicia officials voted unanimously to impose moderate new safety regulations on the facility.

For Fox, the fire is another reason to be concerned about Valero’s safety record.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable,” Fox said. “I think Valero has tried to portray themselves as being safe, and they’ve proven time and time again that they’re not safe…. They don’t care about our safety. They’re just trying to make money and cut corners.”

KQED’s Julie Small contributed to this report.