The third largest oil refinery in the United States suffered a major disaster this weekend, as an intense fire engulfed the plant on Friday morning.
The Marathon Petroleum facility has been declared beyond repair, leaving many questions surrounding the safety of other industrial complexes.
Incredible new aerial video shared with WBRZ shows an up-close look at the fire raging at the Marathon refinery in Garyville, Louisiana.
Evacuation details and more here: https://t.co/fjhpHH6jFW pic.twitter.com/m4hd7m7utu
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) August 25, 2023
With diesel and gasoline prices soaring to a seven-month high, yet another blow has been dealt to American consumers under President Biden’s administration.
At around 7am on Friday morning, authorities reported a blaze at the Garyville, Louisiana plant that quickly spread across multiple storage tanks.
An evacuation was ordered for residents within two miles of the facility due to hazardous fumes from combustible naphtha released during the incident.
Large fire at the Marathon plant in Garyville, LA pic.twitter.com/TY3f31R2wZ
— Jessie⚜️ (@JJOUBRE3) August 25, 2023
Firefighters worked quickly throughout the day to contain the fire until it was successfully restricted by 2:20pm with no reported casualties or injuries.
This marks only “the third fire to hit the plant in less than a year” according to officials from St John Parish.
Skyrocketing fuel prices have been one of several economic issues under President Biden since his inauguration earlier this year.
Bloomberg reports that diesel and gasoline futures rose approximately 5% and 4% respectively after Marathon Petroleum announced they would be shutting down due to damage caused by this devastating fire.
Such an increase may further exacerbate already scarce distillate reserves in anticipation of increased demand during harvest season as well as winter heating requirements among US citizens—effectively resulting in higher costs for everyday Americans struggling through this trying time period economically.
