Fire crews are battling a blaze at a Northern California refinery

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office issued a shelter in place notification because of the release of hazardous materials from the fire.

Three large ethanol tanks were burning at a NuStar Energy facility in Crockett, located south of Vallejo, the Contra Costa County Fire Department said. Several acres of vegetation near the tanks caught fire, fire officials said. But Steve Hill, a Contra Costa County Fire Department spokesman, said vegetation fires have been contained.

Firefighters attacked the flames with foam and water. Firefighters used water to cool adjacent tanks that were not on fire, the Contra Costa County Fire Department said.

"It's really what's burning down in the tank farm. And you can still see active fire. There's flame and combustion," said George Laing, a Contra Costa County Fire Department Captain.

"There is active fire suppression down at the base of this hill where the tank farm is," he added.

One of the tanks contained 167,000 gallons of ethanol, Hill said.

In a statement, NuStar said two impacted tanks had a low volume of ethanol, less than 1% of the tank capacity, NuStar Energy said a statement.

All personnel are accounted for, NuStar said.

More than 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, officials said.

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