Flame Hampers Refinery Probe

A small flame continued to burn at Texaco’s Wilmington refinery Saturday, hampering efforts to identify the cause of the blast that tore through the plant Thursday night.

Sixteen people were injured and numerous windows in the area were smashed in the explosion, which occurred in a processing tower used to convert heavy crude oil into gasoline and kerosene.

Texaco spokeswoman Faye Cox said officials are monitoring the nearly three-foot flame and must wait for it to die down before they can examine the equipment. “It’s tough to say how long it will take to burn itself out,” she said.

In the meantime, investigators from California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said they are interviewing plant employees to try to reconstruct what led up to the explosion.

Cox also said that more than 1,100 people have called a special 800 number to report property damage and injuries they say occurred as a result of the explosion.