Multiple explosions have rocked the Husky Energy oil refinery in Wisconsin, causing a massive fire and injuring at least 11 people, local officials say. Thousands of people have been told to evacuate.<\/p>\n
The incident began at 10:06 a.m. CT on Thursday when a small explosion caused a fire at the refinery in the city of Superior. It happened when workers at the refinery were attempting to shut it down for repairs.<\/p>\n
The initial fire was extinguished about an hour later, officials said, but it later reignited. Explosions rocked the facility after noon, causing a massive fire that sent thick black plumes of smoke into the sky.<\/p>\n
As a result, an evacuation has been ordered for an area that includes most of the city. Everyone 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the south of the refinery and 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) to the north, east and west have been told to evacuate immediately. <\/p>\n
At least 11 people have been taken to hospital as a result of the initial explosion, but none of them are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries. A number of “walking wounded” have been treated at the scene.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately known whether anyone was hurt in the explosions that happened around noon, but workers had already been evacuated at that time. <\/p>\n
Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger said the initial explosion involved a small tank containing crude oil or asphalt. It also caused an asphalt leak which was initially reported as “contained and controlled.”<\/p>\n
People across the region reported hearing and feeling the initial explosion, which some compared to a “sonic boom.” The exact cause of the blast was not immediately known.<\/p>\n
Husky Energy bought the Superior Refinery in August 2017 when it entered into a $435 million deal with Calumet. About 180 people work at the facility, which has a maximum capacity of 50,000 barrels a day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Multiple explosions have rocked the Husky Energy oil refinery in Wisconsin, causing a massive fire and injuring at least 11 people, local officials say. Thousands of people have been told to evacuate. The incident began at 10:06 a.m. CT on Thursday when a small explosion caused a fire at the refinery in the city of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,2],"tags":[15,310,309],"class_list":["post-2210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breakingnow","category-usnews","tag-featured","tag-husky-energy","tag-superior-wisconsin"],"yoast_head":"\n