At least 1,500 people were forced out of their homes after thick black smoke filled the air when a Puerto Rico oil storage facility blazed out of control.

Interviewed Saturday night, Gov. Luis Fortuno said that five tanks were still burning. An additional 12 tanks were smoking, but posed no danger. Four had burned themselves out and collapsed.

The governor added that the fire had cost the island at least $6.4 million.

Fortuno said, “Our mission right now is to contain the fire and not have it affect the other tanks.”

The blaze at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. facility in Bayamon municipality, near San Juan, started shortly after midnight Friday. The initial explosion shook the ground with the force of a 2.8-magnitude earthquake.

Fortuno added that, despite the smoke, the air quality remained good although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is monitoring the air.

EPA spokeswoman Bonnie Bellow said, “We’re not finding levels that would be of concern. The fire is so intense that it is burning off chemicals that are part of the fuel.”

(article source: CNN, photo source: Wikimedia)

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