Refinery tank blaze leads to evacuations in Lake Charles

Residents of the Graywood subdivision on the southwestern edge of Lake Charles were ordered to evacuate after a storage tank at the Calcasieu Refinery Co. was struck by lightning and caught on fire.

The fire continues to burn at the edge of the Calcasieu River, and residents within a 3-mile radius are ordered to shelter in place to prevent the inhalation of smoke and toxic fumes, according to state police.

The Lake Charles Fire Department, state police and the Calcasieu Parish Fire Department are responding to the scene.

It's unclear how long it will take to extinguish the fire or for the fuel in the tank to burn out, according to Jared Maze, assistant director of the Calcasieu Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness.

"They’re trying to estimate right now," Maze said.

Rachel Guillory Bradley was house-sitting for friends in the Graywood subdivision Saturday afternoon and said she heard a loud sound amid the lighting and thunder, but didn't think much of it until she and her dad went outside to get into her car.

"My dad noticed everyone was looking in that direction, and by that time the smoke had risen above the tree line and it was just pitch black," Guillory Bradley said. On their way out, they saw "billowing flames" at the site.

The refinery fire is the second petrochemical fire in the region on Saturday. Earlier that day, a liquified natural gas tank at a power station in Cameron, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, ruptured and burned.

Email Alena Maschke at [email protected].