A huge gasoline tank at the privatized Haifa refinery caught fire on Sunday, December 25, sending bright orange flames and thick black smoke billowing into the air above the large cities along the Haifa Bay and threatening other installations in the massive industrial complex.

The gasoline tank in flames at the Haifa oil refinery, December 25, 2016 (Photo: Israel Police)

Officials said a larger disaster was avoided as the tank, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters, was only 10% full. The Haifa Bay area, hemmed in by the Carmel Mountains, is home to some of the heaviest industry in the country, and residents there have long feared an incident that could endanger the northern port city. There have also been complaints of severe pollution and related health issues.

The fire comes weeks after the city was ravaged by a series of wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes and caused tens of thousands to evacuate. The city was also hit by heavy flooding earlier this month that killed one person.

Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List), leader of the environmental lobby in the Knesset, has  repeatedly warned the government about the danger posed by the refinery and the area’s massive ammonia storage tank. Hadash MK Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List Knesset faction and Haifa resident, wrote on Twitter that the government should take action to fight the problems plaguing his hometown. “And doing something does not mean blaming the Arabs in the media again,” he wrote sarcastically, referring to accusations that November’s fires had been started as nationalistically motivated arson attacks. According to environmental activists in the Haifa Bay “several studies have indicated that Haifa residents suffer from a slew of health-related problems, including higher rates of cancer and pollution-related disorders such as smaller-than-average heads and relatively low weight in newborns.”