Dark smoke from a large petroleum tank fire was visible for miles across Tulsa County Tuesday.
Firefighters evacuated people from the area as a precaution. There were no injuries reported.
“There was a very heavy plume of black smoke leaving the structure. We’re told that it was likely a tank farm area. A petroleum tank farm and it appears that multiple tanks were on fire," Tulsa Fire Official Andy Little told Fox 23.
He said it’s difficult to put a fire out that has materials like petroleum because water can cause it to spread.
“They’ve used a combination of water and foam. The goal, obviously, is to protect exposures so they’re working very hard to keep building around that tank farm from catching fire."
AXEL Royal officials wrote in a statement that the fire started in the west section of the oil blending unit.
“All employees and visitors were safe and accounted for and were subsequently released to return home. The fire was controlled by the Tulsa fire Department with the assistance of Holly Frontier’s internal resources.”
The damage mostly affected the oil blending and outdoor base oil storage tanks.
