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Pasadena residents wake up to smell, smoke after fire at nearby refinery

No one was hurt, and all workers have been accounted for, the company says. Air quality in the area is being monitored.

PASADENA, Texas — No injuries were reported when an oil tank caught fire at the Chevron refinery in Pasadena early Tuesday, the company stated.

The East Harris County community alert system, known as CAER, issued an update before 6 a.m. that indicated the fire was reported at a facility in the 100 block of Red Bluff.

Views from Air 11 showed firefighters spraying down a charred storage tank as of 7:30 a.m. No flames were visible as the company said the fire was extinguished about 45 minutes after it first broke out.

Firefighters continued to spray the tank with water to help cool it, creating a plume of steam that could be seen in the area as the sun came up.

The ship channel was briefly closed as a precaution but has since reopened. The nearby Washburn Tunnel and other roads were also closed but as of 8:40 a.m. they also were expected to reopen soon.

“No one has been injured by this incident, and all personnel are accounted for,” the company stated in a press release. “The refinery activated its emergency response plan and the emergency response team is responding and made all appropriate agency notifications.”

“Ongoing perimeter air monitoring being conducted at the fenceline has not detected any offsite impact.”

No shelter-in-place was issued.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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