'It Rained Oil': Remembering the Explosive 1958 Hancock Refinery Fire in Signal Hill | Lost LA | Food & Discovery
On May 22, 1958, a series of oil spills and explosions ignited the Hancock Oil Refinery in Signal Hill, burning for two days and sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air. Writer D.J. Waldie, who was 9-years-old at the time of the fires, recalls the explosive event.