Fire officers said that it seems that lightning strikes resulted in a big blaze at a gasoline pipeline firm's "tank farm" in North Carolina early Sunday morning.

David Douglas, an Assistant Fire Chief in Greensboro, said that the fire began at Colonial Pipeline Company in Greensboro around 1.40 am shortly after midnight.

A tank containing around 20,000 barrels of gasoline, almost half the tank's capacity, caught fire.

According to Steve Baker, Colonial Pipeline's Director of Communications, whilst some of the gasoline blazed, some of it was securely moved to another tank.

Baker said that firefighters made use of foam to quench the blaze on the tank, adding that Greensboro firefighters kept water hosepipes prepared on other tanks in the extensive complex to keep them cool and avoid the blaze from swelling.

The massive facility is close to Piedmont Triad International Airport, and the huge fire sent clouds of smoke all through the region.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said that the fire led to the momentary shutting down of a segment of Interstate 40.

Douglas said that no instance of damages or evacuations was reported.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said that the closed portion of Interstates 40 and 73 across Greensboro were unlocked on Sunday morning.