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CROCKETT-search Warrants were filed Wednesday on the owner of an East Bay fuel facility that exploded a day before as multiple government agencies began probing, sparking a fire that shut down interstate 80 and prompting an on-site housing order that has 1,200 nearby residents huddled in their homes for more than seven hours.

The contra Costa fire protection district investigative unit led the review, which began Wednesday, and included collections of state and local agencies, fire district spokesman Steve hill said at a news conference. As for the cause of the fire, hill said Wednesday that it was “too early to know.”

“We always prepare for the unexpected,” he added. “But I’d be hard-pressed to say we expected this yesterday.”

The explosions, which occurred shortly after 14: 00 Tuesday, followed a 4.5-magnitude earthquake that struck near pleasant hill in contra Costa the night before and caused burning at two refineries in Martinez.

Hill said Wednesday it was too early to say whether the explosions at the Crockett facility were related to the earthquake.

“I am not aware of any such connection, but we are not ruling anything out at the moment,” he told the news organization, adding that the investigation into the cause of the fire remained in “very early stages.”

“It’s too early to speculate on this kind of thing,” he said.

Located South of Vallejo, the Selby terminal-like facility in Crockett is known to be one of 74 operated by NuStar energy, a publicly traded company based in San Antonio, Texas that specializes in energy and fuel storage. Company records show that the facility on San Pablo Avenue has 24 tanks with a total capacity of 3 million barrels of fuel.

Hill confirmed that ConFire investigative units, joined by officials with the contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, County health services and hazardous materials departments, Cal / OSHA employees and the Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, filed warrants for NuStar energy, shortly before noon Wednesday. He added that the company is “nothing but cooperating” with the investigation.

“No assumptions need to be made about the nature of NuStar,” hill said. “It’s common practice for large studies like this one with multiple moving parts.”

Nustar operations have been closed pending an investigation.

About 200 firefighters and emergency personnel responded to the scene, fighting the blaze for several hours, and using a combination of foam and water to stop the flames from spreading. The cleanup environment involved surrounding what was left of the tanks with foam-blanketed “containment pods” to prevent outbreaks, hill said.

Officials were also able to assess all nearby tanks Wednesday and ensured their structural integrity, he said. Firefighting crews planned to stay at the facility as a precaution hrough Wednesday, however, out of anout “an abundance of caution,” hill said. But the failure of firefighters to determine the dilution levels of other tanks ‘ materials led the Agency to put fire crews on standby, out of caution.

There were no reports of serious injuries; the crew Rescued one worker who was initially trapped at the facility, according to a spokesman for the California Department of occupational safety and health.

The Agency sent inspectors to the site to assess any possible workplace safety violations at the facility, and issued a “save order” on the two tanks and pipes involved in the fire, a Cal / OSHA spokesman said.

One firefighter was treated and released overnight for minor injuries, hill said.

Witnesses say the sound of the explosions reverberated for miles. As the smoke unfolded, authorities closed interstate 80 and the Cummings Skyway, San Pablo road and other roads leading to the NuStar site, and issued stay-in-place alerts to residents in Crockett and Rodeo due to concerns for possible air pollutants. The tiny unincorporated community of Tormy, located near the site, was evacuated.

County health officials are mostly concerned that the smoke will create unhealthy levels of particulate matter in the air, after initial testing Tuesday night showed unusually high concentrations of particulate matter, said Randy Sawyer, chief environmental protection and hazardous materials officer for contra Costa County.

But by the time the County released the all-clear late at night, officials were confident the air quality was safe. The highways were eventually reopened around the same time.

“Smoke itself is the biggest problem with short-term, acute exposure,” Sawyer said. “We don’t expect any long-term effects from the smoke with this fire.”

However, all John Swett unified school district schools were closed Wednesday in the Rodeo and Crockett area, and classes were canceled at CCCOE Golden gate Community School in Rodeo.

In comments Wednesday, Contra Costa County supervisor John Gioia noted that the NuStar site is not regulated under the County’s industrial safety Ordinance. Adopted about two decades ago, the Ordinance regulates refineries and chemical plants – including Phillips 66 Rodeo refinery, Air Liquide-Rodeo hydrogen plant, Shell Oil Martinez refinery and Tesoro Golden Eagle refinery-but does not cover Shelby terminal or other facilities where petroleum products and other chemicals are stored.

Gioia said he and fellow County supervisor Federal Glover, who chairs the Committee that covers the Ordinance, plan to propose an expansion of the Ordinance to cover fuel storage locations, and will bring up possible changes at an upcoming meeting of supervisors.

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