The WTF Files

I have no idea what this is... if anyone can help me out, elighten me. I can not figure this out at all. It's correlated with petroleum, but not toxic or flamable? Hence I ask the question in the title. Something is not right here, apart from the incident. What goo like that is hot, but not flamable or toxic?

I saw the headline "Mystery Blob Eating Downtown LA" over on Drudge and was filled with a rapidly toggling pair of thoughts. First, that some idiot was doing a PR stunt: it's LA, it's filed with idiots seeking attention that they do not deserve. The second was that something out of a B-movie had finally been unleashed to wipe out LA, the city that should not be. Well, it seems that neither is the truth, but there could be elements of truth in number two there.

Will wonders never cease?