TEXAS CITY, Texas, April 26 (UPI) -- Dry weather may be to blame for knocking out power to three refineries and two chemical plants in Texas City, Texas, officials said.
Emergency management officials issued two different shelter-in-place orders overnight after a series of power outages hit the city, The Galveston County (Texas) Daily News reported Tuesday.
The first outage took BP's Texas City refinery and chemical plants offline, prompting the city to declare a level 3 emergency. Dow Chemical also had to shut down because of the lack of power, officials said.
Power went out at the Valero and Marathon Oil refineries, prompting both facilities to activate their flare systems. Texas City Homeland Security Coordinator Bruce Clawson said Marathon had its power situation under control quickly.
Texas City school officials canceled Tuesday classes and residents were advised to stay indoors and turn off their air conditioners.
Officials said a build-up of salt on power line insulators, caused by drought and windy conditions, may have been to blame for the outages.
