Thick smoke in east Edmonton caused by refinery flaring, not fire

Some people driving in and around Edmonton became concerned on Friday after huge, thick plumes of black smoke wafted through parts of the city.

However, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said the haze was not from a massive blaze, but from an oil sector facility.

The massive flare could be seen coming from the Imperial Oil/Esso refinery, and was visible from as far west as Parkland County.

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“We’ve received many calls about black smoke on the east side of the city,” the fire department tweeted Friday afternoon. “Please be advised that this is not a fire, but flaring from a refinery.”

A number of Twitter users took to social media to express their concern about the clouds of smoke.

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“That’s insane if that’s flaring,” said someone with the Twitter handle @PattiMar13.

https://twitter.com/PattiMar13/status/1078747753654546433

READ MORE: Power outage causes emergency flaring at refinery row

WATCH BELOW: (From September 2013) Power outage causes emergency flaring at Edmonton’s refinery row.