Power outage sparks emergency response, evacuations at Whiting BP refinery

A BP oil refinery in northwest Indiana was shut down after a suspected power outage sparked an emergency response and evacuation Thursday.

According to the city of Whiting, Indiana, a power outage on the property of the BP Whiting Refinery led to power issues at the refinery itself.

"As a result of this power outage, additional product is being burned which will cause additional flaring of the stacks," the city said in a statement. "This flaring is a safety release to burn off the extra product and is a normal process during an event. BP is working to resolve the power outage as quickly as possible."

BP told NBC Chicago it activated its emergency response team and evacuated office buildings "out of the abundance of caution." Nearby roads were being shut down to assist with the evacuation.

"We are in the process of safely shutting down the refinery after a suspected power outage," Christina Audisho, a spokesperson for BP, told NBC Chicago. "We have activated our emergency response team and evacuated refinery office buildings out of an abundance of caution. Local fire departments are assisting with the evacuation by closing nearby roads. The safety of refinery staff and the community are our highest priority."

Whiting's mayor, Steve Spebar, said the outage started sometime late Thursday morning or early afternoon.

As a result of the evacuations, the intersection of 129th and Indianapolis Boulevard was closed in the area. Indianapolis Boulevard was also closed to all traffic from 129th to Schrage.

"Please use Calumet Avenue to travel North or South," the city said. "We will notify you as soon as the street has been reopened."

No additional evacuations are expected as officials work to restore power.