UC San Diego cameras captures initial explosion at Chevron oil refinery outside LA

An explosion at a Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo, near Los Angeles, was captured by ALERTCalifornia cameras set up by UC San Diego on Thursday night. A fire broke out at the plant, triggering enormous flames and plumes of smoke.

The US San Diego cameras show an area near El Segundo lighting up in an explosion around 9:30 p.m. local time. Visuals of the explosion and the resulting fire are being circulated on social media, with netizens expressing concern about the incident.

ALERTCalifornia cameras maintained by UC San Diego captured the initial explosion tonight at the Chevron El Segundo Oil Refinery right outside Los Angeles, which resulted in a large fire at the refinery, though authorities state that the fire is currently contained to only one… pic.twitter.com/JtoYwmSAQd

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 3, 2025

According to NBC 4 Los Angeles, the fire struck the Chevron refinery in the 300 block of West El Segundo Boulevard. Firefighters from LA County were at the scene to deal with the incident, in addition to the fire department from Chevron.

All we know about the Chevron oil refinery fire

The fire at the Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo was characterized by the city as “not a flaring event,” according to NBC News. The city of El Segundo also shared that no evacuations were ordered.

Similarly, the neighbouring city of Manhattan Beach also informed its citizens of the fire and shared that, for the time being, no evacuation was necessary. Even so, citizens were advised to remain indoors, according to NBC News.

According to NBC 4 Los Angeles, Alert SouthBay also informed citizens of the incident, and while ensuring people that no orders of evacuation were in place, wrote,

“There is a fire at the Chevron Refinery. There is NO PUBLIC threat at this time and NO evacuation orders in place at this time. Please stay indoors. We will provide more information as we have it.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass shared information on the incident on X, stating that she was aware of the incident.

“I’ve been briefed on the fire in El Segundo outside of our city limits and I’ve also spoken with Supervisor @HollyJMitchell.”

The Chevron oil refinery is located close to the LAX airport. While continuing to provide an update on the incident, the Mayor also informed citizens and wrote,

“LAFD stands at the ready to assist with any mutual aid request. There is no known impact to LAX at this time. We will continue to monitor this situation.”

I’ve been briefed on the fire in El Segundo outside of our city limits and I’ve also spoken with Supervisor @HollyJMitchell.

LAFD stands at the ready to assist with any mutual aid request. There is no known impact to LAX at this time.

We will continue to monitor this situation. https://t.co/VdmtUYuFps

— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) October 3, 2025

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office shared that the Governor was monitoring the situation. In a post on X, Governor Newsom’s press office wrote,

“The Governor has been briefed on the incident at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery in Los Angeles County.”

Assuring citizens of their safety, the press office added,

“Our office is coordinating in real time with local and state agencies to protect the surrounding community and ensure public safety.”

A local who has been living in the El Segundo area for eight years spoke to NBC Los Angeles to share his reaction to the incident. As per NBC News, he said,

“I saw this thing just go up. I never, ever fear anything. This — I got in panic mode when I saw it. I was literally in panic mode.”

Per the news outlet, firefighters were attempting to extinguish flames as of 11 p.m. local time. According to The New York Post, the Chevron plant refines approximately 290,000 barrels of oil per day.