Evacuation Order Lifted Following Refinery Fire

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP)  -- Police say an evacuation order has been lifted for a northwest Wisconsin city where a refinery plant explosion injured at least 11 people and sent billowing plumes of black smoke into the air.

The Superior Police Department tweeted that the order had been lifted as of 6 a.m. Friday.

Superior Mayor Jim Paine says all indications are that the refinery site is safe and stable and that the air quality is normal.

Authorities said late Thursday that the fire at the Husky Energy oil refinery was out, but that the evacuation for local residents remained. Superior has about 27,000 and shares a Lake Superior shipping port with nearby Duluth, Minnesota.

The evacuation order affected a 3-mile radius around the refinery, as well as a 10-mile corridor south of it where the smoke was heading.