An explosion at the HF Sinclair Navajo Refinery prompted authorities to urge residents to shelter indoors Friday as thick smoke drifted over parts of this southeastern New Mexico city.
The Artesia Police Department responded to the incident at the refinery and asked residents to avoid the area around First Street and Main, as well as Highway 82 and Bolton Road, while emergency crews prepared helicopter landing zones.
Authorities instructed anyone in the path of the smoke to shelter indoors immediately and keep windows and doors closed to prevent smoke from entering homes and businesses.
Emergency services, about an hour later, brought the situation under control and extinguished the fire, according to a subsequent update from the police department. All city and county emergency services cleared the scene, and highways and surrounding roads reopened.
The extent of damage, the cause of the explosion and whether anyone was injured were not immediately clear. HF Sinclair was monitoring air quality and safety conditions at the refinery.
The police department said it would provide additional updates as more information becomes available.
Artesia, a city of about 12,000 people, is located approximately 40 miles south of Roswell in Eddy County.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
