UPDATE 2-Tornado hits NiSource Columbia Gulf Tenn. gas unit

(Adds details, spokesman comments)

NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - NiSource Inc (NI.N) unit Columbia Gulf Transmission Co declared force majeure on Wednesday for its natural gas pipeline system in Tennessee after its Hartsville compressor station was struck by a tornado late Tuesday.

Columbia Gulf spokesman Kelly Merritt said the tornado touched down directly over the station, in Hartsville, in Macon County, causing a fire and severe damage.

The fire was put out quickly, but the station was not expected to be back in service for "some time," Merritt said.

Lines 100, 200 and 300 were shut in. The company expected to make damage assessments later Wednesday and get the lines back flowing as soon as possible, he added.

Columbia Gulf operates 4,200 miles of natural gas pipeline in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, connecting producers on the Gulf Coast with markets throughout the eastern United States.

Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource is engaged in natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution. NiSource operating companies deliver energy to 3.8 million customers stretching from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England. (Reporting by Eileen Moustakis)