Feb 17, 2012:

FERNDALE, Wash. — A fire at Washington's largest oil refinery broke out Friday afternoon, sparking bursts of flames and creating a thick plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles. Workers at the BP Cherry Point refinery near Blaine in Whatcom County were evacuated shortly after the fire broke out at around 2:30 p.m. Live television footage showed crews sending several streams of water into the fire and also using retardant foam to douse the facility.  All BP crew at the facility have been accounted for, BP spokesman Scott Dean said. One contractor was transported to a local hospital for observation after a "minor" injury, he said. It wasn't clear how the fire would affect production, but some of the refinery has continued operating, Dean said.

The refinery has its own fire crews but mutual aid was requested from other agencies for the blaze, which took place in a tower on the south side of the refinery. Dean couldn't say what the tower is normally used for or what it contained. . The one-square mile refinery employs more than 800 people and can process up to 230,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alaska. From that amount, the refinery has the ability to produce 2.5 million gallons of jet fuel, 3.5 million gallons of gasoline, 2.2 million gallons of diesel, 360,000 gallons of butane and 140,000 gallons of propane.

According to the BP website, the refinery is the largest supplier of fuel for the Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, B.C., airports. It also provides 20 percent of Washington state's gasoline, the website said.

The refinery was fined more than $69,000 in 2010 for 13 serious safety violations, state Department of Labor and Industries spokesman Hector Castro. He added that all five of the state's refineries have been fined for safety regulations. Inspectors were heading to Cherry Point to investigate Friday's fire.

"Once the scene where the fire occurred cools down, we'll move in and launch a full investigation," Dean said.

By The Associated Press