Shelter-in-place lifted after fire at Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City

Texas City lifted a shelter-in-place order Monday after a fire at Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery sent a black plume of smoke over the area and prompted emergency alerts, warning sirens and air monitoring.

Officials said the fire did not result in reported injuries, and initial monitoring did not detect harmful chemicals. Authorities continued to monitor air quality after the all-clear.

What happened

The city first issued a shelter-in-place order at about 10:04 a.m. CT on June 21, 2026, after reports of a fire at the refinery. By 10:12 a.m., the restricted area had expanded to cover the stretch from 14th Street through 34th Street in Texas City.

The affected area included Texas City City Hall and Texas City High School. Officials told residents to stay indoors and turn off air conditioning while the smoke threat was under review.

By about 11:21 a.m., Texas City lifted the shelter-in-place order after air monitoring did not detect harmful chemicals. The Texas City Office of Emergency Management later said the notice had been lifted and that monitoring was continuing as a precaution.

What is known now

The cause of the fire had not been announced in the latest reporting, and officials had not identified which refinery unit was affected. Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery is one of the largest refineries in the United States, with a reported crude capacity of 631,000 barrels per day.

Texas City and Marathon have both faced refinery safety concerns before, which adds to local attention whenever an incident like this occurs.

What comes next

Questions remain about what sparked the fire, whether a specific process unit was involved and whether state or local regulators will open any follow-up review. Officials said air monitoring would continue, and Marathon had not yet released a formal incident report in the latest updates.