Marathon issues evening update: Much of the fire has been extinguished

Published 5:48 pm Friday, August 25, 2023

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GARYVILLE — Marathon Petroleum personnel and local emergency responders are continuing to respond to a fire at the company’s Garyville refinery.

While much of the fire has been extinguished, firefighters continue fire suppression activities to address flare-ups. Intermittent smoke may be seen from the facility. Fire suppression will continue until firefighting professionals are confident there is no risk of additional fire.

Air monitoring continues in the community as a precaution and has indicated no air quality impacts.

Throughout the incident, the fire remained within the containment area on the refinery’s property. Two tanks have sustained damage.

As of 2 p.m. CT, St. John the Baptist Parish lifted their precautionary evacuation order that had been implemented earlier in the day.

Starting at 7 p.m. CT today, Aug. 25, a toll-free number will be available 24 hours a day for any community members who have been impacted by the incident and have a claim. The number is (866) 601-5880.

“As always, our main priority is to ensure the safety of our employees and contractors, our neighbors within our surrounding community, first responders, and to limit environmental impact,” a company spokesperson said.

An investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the incident. Out of an abundance of caution, the facility began a shutdown process of units closest to the fire this morning.

“As the fire-suppression efforts continue to progress, return to normal operations will be evaluated, with safety as our top priority,” the spokesperson said.