WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A neighborhood evacuation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ended early Tuesday, a day after a massive fireball and explosion rocked a racing car fuel refinery.
Fire broke out about 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Speedway International facility and a towering black smoke plume was visible for miles, the Winnipeg Sun reported.
An hour later, as firefighters were trying to advance, a huge explosion shot a fireball more than 2,500 feet into the sky and shook the ground around the plant.
About 100 homes and businesses within a half mile of the refinery were ordered evacuated and police went door to door asking people to leave, the newspaper said.
Fire officials estimated more than 100,000 gallons of explosive fuels such as methanol and diesel were in the facility and in tanker trucks and rail cars.
By Tuesday morning, firefighters told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. they had the fire under control.
Many of the steel buildings and structures at the facility were melted by the extreme heat, they said.
No injuries were reported.
