CALIFORNIA'S REFINERY CRISIS: FIRE AT EL SEGUNDO EXPOSES STATE'S FRAGILE FUEL SUPPLY
California's Fuel Supply Crisis: El Segundo Fire Exposes Critical Vulnerabilities in West Coast Energy Infrastructure Refinery Disaster Threatens Aviation Fuel Networks and Military Readiness as State's Energy Transition Collides with Reality SAN DIEGO — A massive explosion and fire at Chevron's El Segundo refinery on October 2, 2025, has laid bare California's increasingly precarious fuel supply situation, threatening not only the state's motorists but also its aviation infrastructure and the U.S. military's Pacific operations at a critical moment in the nation's strategic pivot to the Indo-Pacific region. The conflagration, which sent a towering fireball into the night sky visible for miles across the South Bay, occurred at California's second-largest refinery—a facility that produces approximately 20% of the state's gasoline and 40% of Southern California's jet fuel. While no injuries were reported and the fire was contained by early morni...