A fire broke out at the oil sands refinery in Upgrader 2, an area of the plant that converts bitumen into crude oil products. Approximately 250 people were evacuated from the plant, but no injuries were reported. The fire burned for nine hours before being extinguished. Witnesses reported two explosions minutes apart which sent a fireball six stories high into the air. The plant also suffered ice damage from water used to fight the fire as temperatures in the area fell below -35 C. On February 3, 2005, the company announced that a ruptured cycle line was the most likely cause of the fire. Oil production was reduced from 225,000 bbl-per-day to about 110,000 bbl-per-day for about nine months.

[ Property Damage $120 Million. Estimated Current Value $168 Million ]

Image credit: Suncor