Visible flaring at Richmond's Chevron refinery sent a cloud of smoke wafting over Richmond Saturday afternoon, triggering an air quality advisory and alarming residents who watched the cloud — and their concerns grow.
Flaring from two stacks, along with a plume of smoke coming from the Richmond Refinery, was first observed around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and was visible throughout most of Richmond's neighborhoods.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Chevron posted a message on social media alerting residents to a Level 1 incident — the second-lowest level — stating that employees were working to resolve the issue.
"Chevron Richmond is experiencing visible flaring and our workforce is working quickly to minimize and stop the flaring. A Community Warning System (CWS) Level 1 notification has been issued to keep our community informed. There is no emergency response or community action required," the statement said.
Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory and urged residents to watch for health updates from officials and the media.
California Congressman John Garamendi sent out a message to residents about the flaring on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I am closely monitoring the situation at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond.
Follow @airdistrict for updates," Garamendi wrote.
On Nextdoor, residents quickly began sharing videos and images of the incident, debating among themselves the severity of the situation.
Flames and a large column of smoke were seen from the East Richmond Hills on Saturday, May 31 at 2:44 p.m. Dark clouds were seen stretching from the Chevron refinery to the East Bay hills at 3 p.m. Photos/ Soren Hemmila
Julia Salinas wrote, "It looked insane from up at Hilltop. At one point, the flames were double the height of the stack." Shiela Anne said, "Oh my. That answers why my chest feels tight and like my breathing is off." And Brian Koch said, "This is a normal process when one of the units is being shut down, the refinery will burn off excess fuel in the burn stacks you show in the video. This is part of the safety systems in place for the refinery."
Most of the cloud had already begun to dissipate by 4 p.m., thanks in part to wind coming from the southwest, gusting to about 15 miles an hour.
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