By Lana Groves
The Deseret Morning News
SALT LAKE CITY — Flames lit up the sky above the Tesoro Refinery in Salt Lake City Wednesday night ? destroying some equipment and trailers.
The refinery at 965 N. Beck Street first reported that a power outage caused some malfunctions with its flare stacks about 2 p.m.
Fire officials said a leak started after the problem was fixed and the flares restarted, causing crude oil to boil out.
More than 75 firefighters from the Tesoro Refinery and Salt Lake City Fire Department converged on the scene about 9 p.m. where the fire covered a 200-yard radius around the flare stack.
Officials closed down I-15 between the 600 North interchange and the Beck Street interchange for about 30 minutes and Utah Transit Authority’s Front Runner stopped running between Woods Cross and Salt Lake City for about an hour.
Passengers were shuttled between the two stations by bus in the meantime, said Salt Lake Fire public information officer Mark Bednarik.
No one was injured in the fire and no nearby residences were evacuated.
A hazardous materials crew was called because of the crude oil.
Firefighters laid down a blanket of foam on the oil to avoid problems, Bednarik said.
The fire burned 200-yard radius around the initial flare stack, consuming a couple trailers and equipment just outside the maintenance shop.
A hazmat team will continue working to clean up the crude oil and other materials.
Plant personnel will investigate the fire and assess the extent of damage.
Copyright 2009 The Deseret News Publishing Co.