Multiple people were injured this morning, after a tank explosion set off a massive fire at the Husky Energy oil refinery in Superior, Wisconsin.
Blast Was Felt Up to 1 Mile Away
The blast occurred shortly after 10:00 a.m., as crews were working to shut down the facility for cleaning.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the explosion sent thick, black smoke into the sky and could be felt a mile away in Superior’s business district.
“We had a huge boom and it came through and rattled the whole clubhouse,” a witness at the Nemadji Golf Course, about half a mile south of the refinery, told the Tribune.
Refinery Fire Reignited Shortly After Noon, Evacuations Ordered
While responders from the Superior Fire Department and other agencies were able to bring the blaze under control by 11:30 a.m., the fire reignited at roughly 12:15 p.m.
Several other explosions were reported about 25 minutes later.
Douglas County Emergency Management officials have since ordered evacuations for people within a 1-mile radius of the facility.
A 10-mile area south of the oil refinery is also being evacuated
Up to 20 Injured, 11 Taken to Area Hospitals
No fatalities have been reported so far.
However, at least 20 people working at the facility have been hurt, some seriously.
Five victims were transferred to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota, including one person who suffered serious blast injuries.
Five others were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Superior, while another injured worker was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth.
The remaining victims were treated on site.
A spokesperson for Husky Energy indicated that some of the injured may have been employed by the vendor contracted to clean the refinery.
Contractors Were on Break, In Blast-Proof Shelters When Tank Exploded
About 180 people work at the Husky Energy refinery, which produces gasoline, diesel fuel, motor oils and asphalt.
However, as many as 1,000 construction workers can be on site when the facility shuts down for cleaning.
Fortunately, most of the contractors working today were on break and inside blast-proof shelters when the explosion occurred.
Refinery Received Four OSHA Citations in 2015
The 38,000-bpd refinery was built in the 1950s and was purchased by Murphy Oil in 1958.
Calumet Specialty Products acquired the refinery from Murphy Oil in 2011 for $435 million.
Calumet sold the facility to Canada-based Husky Energy last year for $492 billion.
Records from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) indicate that the refinery was cited four times in 2015 for violations involving flammable and combustible liquids, emergency response and hazardous waste operations.
Calumet ultimately paid $16,000 in penalties in connection with those citations.
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