BIG SPRING, Texas - An explosion rocked an oil refinery Monday in a violent blast that shook buildings miles away and injured at least one person, the company said.

All workers were accounted for about an hour after the explosion, said Blake Lewis, spokesman for refinery owner Alon USA. The injured worker was in the hospital, but the person's condition was not known, Lewis said.

The fire sparked by the blast was under control Monday morning, Lewis said. The Dallas-based company does not know what caused the explosion, he said.

The blast sent black smoke billowing into the sky, closed schools, shut down a major interstate and left residents rattled.

It was extremely scary. You shook you were so scared," said Laura McEwen, the wife of Mayor Russ McEwen who lives about two miles from the refinery. "Our walls shook. It jolted your bed. It was like an earthquake."

John Moseley, managing editor of the Big Spring Herald whose downtown office is also about two miles from the refinery, said, "I thought it would knock the walls down."

Two elementary schools were evacuated, then classes were canceled at all nine campuses in the Big Spring school district, assistant superintendent Carie Dunnam said.

The explosion forced open the doors of the school district's administration building about four miles from the plant, Dunnam said.

"Literally pieces of my ceiling came on top of my head," she said.

Bus routes were affected by road closures and that emergency officials were warning of the potential for more explosions, Dunnam said. Parents were asked to pick up their children, she said.

The refinery employs about 170 people and produces about 70,000 barrels a day.

Interstate 20 was shut down near the plant, Big Spring police spokesman Roger Sweatt said.

"There's some fire and a whole bunch of smoke," Sweatt said.

Big Spring is about halfway between Dallas and El Paso

Thank God  

Man thank God no one was killed.

Thats a serious issue, 70,000 barrels a day is nothen to sneez at.

Man thats not good is it. I wonder if thier price hiken at the gas pumps now :

You can count on the prices going up. That's all they need to raise the prices. >

Uh oh gas will go up 20 cents now.

Heard an interview with a tractor-trailer driver on the radio who said he was at least two miles from the blast and it rocked his rig.

Or was he five miles from the blast?

I was not paying attention to the news so I missed where the expolosion took place but this must be the one.

And you guys are right...there goes another increase in gas prices just a fishing season starts. :'(

Prices here in Northern Virginia went up .07 today, must be due to the refinery accident.

I remember the goodole days when it took two weeks for the price to go up.  It seems very funny how the prices move so fast even though it takes weeks for the supplies to be sent.

Notice they aint saying much more about the explosion, anyone hear why it happen. Strange not talken to much about it.

So a barrel of oil is highest thats its ever been??

Were at 3.15 a gallon here(highest ever here)

We sure are not doing good with the money thing

we just gave 16 billion to africa for aids research and still fighting for financial help here

Our price jumped 14 cents today...   >

I paid $2.84 last weekend and this morning it was $3.19.  Just plain stupid..........

I live 45 miles from were the explosion happened and I was working in my shop and it shook my hole shop. In the end there was five hurt and none killed. You half to thank GOD for that one.

FisherDave

+ .25 cents/gallon here in So CA. ANY excuse at all is excuse enough to rape and plunder the consumer. IMO! $4.00/gallon for 87 octane is only a blink away.

I must say that I was relieved to see that no one was killed in such a violent explosion like that.