As a former BP Cherry Point employee, this one hits close to home.A large fire broke out at the BP oil refinery at Cherry Point, near Ferndale, WA 10 miles from the Canada border.
Pictures from SkyKING showed a huge column of black smoke, with intermittent bursts of fire coming out of a large industrial tower.
BP Spokesperson Michael Abendhoff told KING 5 News there are no injuries that he is aware off.
Firefighters are on the ground, using foam to fight the fire. Abendhoff said BP employs its own fire crew at the refinery site, but has requested mutual aid from Whatcom County fire districts.
It is unknown how the fire started.
According to officials at Sea-Tac International Airport, about 85 percent of the airport’s jet fuel comes from the refinery.
BP reports the Cherry Point refinery was commissioned in 1971 and processes about 230,000 barrels of crude oil each day. It is the largest oil refinery in Washington and the third largest on the west coast. King 5 photo of the BP fire
by KING 5 News
KING5.com
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:45 PM
Paul Orlowski
