Benicia officials monitor air quality after Valero refinery fire led to shelter-in-place orders

BENICIA, Calif. (KGO) -- A large plume of smoke hovered around multiple neighborhoods in Benicia as fire crews battled a fire at the Valero refinery around 9 a.m. on Monday.

"We had our latter trucks up and were cooling the area around it, but the staff at the refinery did the great work of getting the fuel shut off," said Josh Chadwick, Benicia Fire Chief.

As Benicia's fire crews battled the blaze and winds picked up, a shelter in place alert went out to multiple communities around the refinery.

"Anybody downwind in the refinery within the city and anybody who was able to smell the smoke," said Chief Chadwick.

MORE: Valero may close Benicia refinery by next year, citing CA regulations and high costs

Matt Mitchell lives near the refinery and got the shelter in place alert around 9:30am. He said by then he had already taken action.

"Pretty much closed all the windows and then kind of kept an eye on the sky to see if the smoke was coming close by. I was a little concerned," said Matt Mitchell, Benicia Resident.

According to Benicia's city manager the air quality continues to be a top concern.

"Obviously, the material we will find out later in the report exactly what was released in the atmosphere," said Mario Giuliani, Benicia City Manager.

In a statement the Bay Area Air District said in part:

"We did see particulate matter (PM) impacts to a strip of communities that extended from the Valero Refinery southwestward to Alameda..."

"...currently there is minimal to no PM impacts on our air monitors now."

In October, Valero Energy Corp was charged nearly $82 million in fines, the largest-ever penalty by the Bay Area Air District, for a history of toxic chemical releases and other violations at its Benicia refinery dating back to 2003. Monday's fire happening just weeks after the refinery announced they are seeking to close by 2026.

"We have certainly being trying to deal with that on two fronts seeing what can happen to maintain that refinery whether is Valero or another operator and go down a new path and transition that 930 acres into something new for Benicia," said Giuliani.

In a statement, the Valero Corporation confirmed there were no injuries during the fire yet did not specific what might have caused the fire. That's still under investigation.

The fire was extinguished between 9:50 a.m. to 10 a.m.