What is on fire?
People in Edmonton and Sherwood Park may have noticed a bright light and black smoke coming from the Refinery Row area Monday afternoon.
The flaring happened at Imperial Oil’s Strathcona Refinery at 34 Street and Baseline Road.
Flaring happens for various reasons a few times a year at the refineries on the east side of Edmonton, and the bright flames and smoke in the eastern sky always prompts a great deal of curiosity, concern and questions from those who see it.
Keri Scobie, Imperial Oil’s public and government affairs manager, said it happened because of a “unit upset.”
“Due to a unit upset at approximately 3:10 pm today, neighbours and the community were seeing a large flare and black smoke from Strathcona Refinery. We are in the midst of restarting but the flaring has significantly reduced,” Scobie said in a statement.
“We are currently conducting environmental monitoring and there is no concern for the community at this time.”
Scobie said for competitive reasons, Imperial does not discuss details of specific units so no further details were provided.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said a lot of 911 calls started coming in about heavy smoke mid-afternoon.
“We are aware of the situation and have been informed that it is a generator issue,” the city said.
Global News has reached out to Imperial Oil for more information. This story will be updated if a response is received.