Oil blaze causes I-15 closure

Flames lit up the sky above the Tesoro Refinery in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night — destroying some equipment and trailers.

Workers at the refinery at 965 N. Beck Street first reported that a power outage caused some malfunctions with its flare stacks about 2 p.m. Fire officials said a leak started after the problem was fixed and the flares restarted, causing crude oil to boil out.

More than 75 firefighters from the Tesoro Refinery and Salt Lake City Fire Department converged on the scene about 9 p.m., when the fire covered a 200-yard radius around the flare stack.

Officials closed down I-15 between the 600 North interchange and the Beck Street interchange for about 30 minutes, and Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner stopped running between Woods Cross and Salt Lake City for about an hour. Passengers were shuttled between the two stations by bus in the meantime, said Salt Lake Fire public-information officer Mark Bednarik.

No one was injured in the fire, and no nearby residences were evacuated. A hazardous-materials crew was called because of the crude oil. Firefighters laid down a blanket of foam on the oil to avoid problems, Bednarik said.

The fire burned a 200-yard radius around the initial flare stack, consuming a couple of trailers and equipment just outside the maintenance shop.

A hazardous-materials team will continue working to clean up the crude oil and other materials. Refinery personnel will investigate the fire and assess the extent of damage.