Los Angeles, October 18 (RHC)-- In the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, a fire erupted overnight at a massive Chevron oil refinery near the L.A. International Airport, lighting up the night sky and sending huge columns of smoke into residential neighborhoods. 

Police warned nearby residents to close their windows as firefighters spent about a half-hour extinguishing flames.  Chevron describes the site as the largest oil refinery in the western U.S., processing more than a quarter-million barrels of crude oil each day. 

Meanwhile, in Northern California, a new wildfire erupted in the Santa Cruz Mountains southwest of San Jose Tuesday -- the latest in a record-setting fire season.  The official death toll from the fires has reached 41, the deadliest in California history.  Dozens more remain missing, and according to Sonoma County’s sheriff, some victims were reduced to ashes and bones and will never be identified.