Authorities have expanded the evacuation zone around a Wisconsin refinery that was rocked by an explosion and are now saying anyone within a three-mile radius should leave.
Douglas County authorities also say those in a 10-mile corridor south of the Husky Energy oil refinery in Superior should leave due to smoke coming from the site.
Evacuees are being told to gather at Yellowjacket Union at the University of Wisconsin-Superior or at Four Corners Elementary School in Superior.
It isn't clear how many people the evacuation order will effect. The refinery is in an industrial area, but there's a residential neighborhood within a mile to the northeast. The corridor downwind to the south is sparsely populated.
At least 11 people were injured in the Thursday morning blast. A spokeswoman for Essentia Health says one person was seriously injured, while another nine being treated at Essentia hospitals in Superior and nearby Duluth, Minnesota, have non-life-threatening injuries.
St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth received one patient who is in fair condition.
A contractor who was inside the building told WDIO television that the explosion sounded like "a sonic boom" and that it happened when crews were working on shutting the plant down for repairs.
No damage estimate was available. The Superior Fire Department sent all three engine companies to the explosion, and nearby Duluth sent over a command vehicle.
Calgary-Alberta-based Husky Energy refinery bought the refinery from Indianapolis-based Calumet Specialty Products Partners last year for over $490 million. It's Wisconsin's only refinery, and it produces gasoline, asphalt and other products.
The refinery, which dates back to the early 1950s, has a professing capacity of around 50,000 barrels per day and a storage capacity of 3.6 million barrels of crude and products. It processes both heavy crude from the Canadian tar sands in Alberta and lighter North Dakota Bakken crude.
(The Associated Press, CBS News contributed to this report.)
DEVELOPING: Superior PD has given the following statement via Facebook about the explosion at the Husky Refinery
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 26, 2018
"The scene refinery explosion scene to be managed by rescue personnel. There is no immediate/ongoing or expected further threat..." https://t.co/zgRoXp6daE pic.twitter.com/lPEHOs9tBf
