A few days ago, I reported that Valero Energy Corporation had announced plans to close its Benicia oil refinery, located just northeast of San Francisco, by the end of April 2026.
This facility, which processes between 145,000 and 170,000 barrels of crude oil daily, has been a significant economic engine for Benicia and a major supplier of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt for the California market. It is also the exclusive supplier to nearby Travis Air Force Base via pipeline.
As that wasn’t bad enough, a fire broke out at the same facility on Monday morning. The incident began around 8:45–9:00 a.m., sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky, which were visible for miles and prompted immediate concern from local authorities and residents.
Bill Wachob came outside to film all the black smoke billowing for miles.”Everything was blowing across the straits,” he said.Contra Costa Health spokeswoman Brittany Goldman said the agency is aware of the fire and sending a HazMat team to Martinez to monitor for potential impacts.And a Cal-OSHA investigator was sent out to assess what happened and if any workers were injured.In a statement on Monday, Valero said company emergency crews responded and they will watch the air quality for safety issues.”The safety of our workers and community is our priority and we are coordinating with state and local authorities,” the company wrote.
The fire was under control by noon. The cause of the blaze is not currently known and is under investigation.
The shelter order was lifted just before 10:40 a.m. after firefighters said the blaze was under control.”While there is particulate matter present, all other air monitoring is below health hazard levels,” the Benicia Fire Department said in a post on social media.No injuries were reported in the fire. Information about the cause of the fire was not available.
Air monitoring of the area is part of the follow-up action plan.
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.
Beege Welborne of Hot Air notes that the fire may now have given Valero the incentive to close the facility even sooner than planned.
Now the concern turns to whether Valero repairs any of the damage to keep the refinery operational until next year. Or if, depending on how extensive the damage is assessed to be once the flames are out, they throw in the towel, like, NOW.They’ve already taken a billion-dollar write-down on this facility this year – what are the odds they write the whole thing off?What does Newsom do then?What is anyone going to do when this goes away and, God forbid, there’s another ‘oops’ at one of the few remaining refineries or they simply have to shut down for maintenance or seasonal fuel formulation?
Looks like the “FO” phase of the FAFO cycle is going to be even sooner and more painful in this state.
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