The black smoke that passed through downtown Edmonton Friday afternoon came from an “operational issue” at a Strathcona County refinery.
The flaring started at 12:30 p.m. at the Imperial Oil refinery at 34 Street and 104 Avenue.
“We’ve had an unexpected operational issue today, which has resulted in neighbours and community members seeing greater than normal flaring in black smoke today,” Imperial Public and Government Affairs Manager Keri Scobie said.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said they received several calls about the smoke.
We’ve received many calls about black smoke on the east side of the city. Please be advised that this is not a fire, but flaring from a refinery. #yeg #flaring
— Edmonton Fire Rescue (@EdmontonFire) December 28, 2018
Scobie did not say what caused the operational issue, but added there are no safety or environmental concerns—despite the size of the thick smoke.
“We typically don’t see this kind of black smoke.
“There’s not a large environmental impact, even though visually it could look one way.”
Scobie said the issue would be resolved within two hours.
