Explosions Rock Bay Area Refinery

A series of major explosions and a fire rocked a Shell Oil Co. refinery Monday, rattling nearby homes and sending flames into the sky. There were no injuries.

“I felt a rumble first and then I looked outside and saw the light in the sky,” said John Taylor, 33, who lives several blocks from the industrial waterfront area dominated by clusters of refineries.

“It was just big, big black balls of smoke,” Taylor said.

A red glow from the flames was visible 10 miles away.

The explosions began just before 7 p.m. in the refinery’s light oil processing area, Shell spokeswoman Tomi Van de Brooke said. No employees were injured.

The fire was contained about two hours later.