Officials say the smoke is the result insulating oil within the transformer that caught on fire after the lightning strike.
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Lightning hit a transformer at the refinery at about 7 a.m. Connecticut as storms moved inland from the Gulf of Mexico, Texas Emergency Management officials said.
It has facilities to receive crude oil by ship but most of its output is sent by pipeline with a major connection to Valero’s Houston refinery, which has bigger marine loading facilities. There is now no danger to the public, but we ask that all non-essential personnel avoid the area around the Valero Refinery on south loop 197.
Valero Energy Corp. said Thursday that lighting struck a transformer used by its refinery in Texas City.
Flames and black smoke could be seen across Bolivar Peninsula.
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The National Weather Service says showers and thunderstorms in the Houston area could linger through Friday.
