Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state emergency Friday night after a leak was detected in a pipeline that supplies fuel to Las Vegas.
The leak was detected Thursday at a pumping station in Long Beach, California, said Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, which operates the impacted pipeline.
A spokesperson for the company said the station and the pipeline have been isolated and shut down. In an updated statement Saturday, the spokesperson said that the source of the leak had been isolated and “restart activities are underway.”
“We expect these pipelines to resume operations this afternoon and begin delivering fuel to their respective market areas later today,” spokesperson Katherine Hill said.
Officials in Clark County, Nevada, said the emergency declaration will allow the state to lift restrictions on trucking and other delivery methods to bring fuel into the county.
“This leak has not impacted the supply of fuel, but rather the method in which this fuel normally comes into Southern Nevada,” county officials said in a tweet. “Clark County is in regular communication with Kinder Morgan and they are working as quickly as possible to repair the leak.”
The officials added that “this declaration allows for our region to leave no stone unturned as we seek to continue to provide unleaded and diesel fuel to our residents as well as our emergency response providers.”
Lombardo urged residents not to panic buy so it does not create unnecessary shortages. But videos posted on social media showed cars lined up at local gas stations.
Officials in Nye County, Nevada, informed its residents Saturday afternoon that fuel systems were coming back online following the shutdown.
“Fuel should be flowing within the next few hours,” the county tweeted, telling residents “to delay fuel purchases if possible to allow supply to refill due to recent panic purchasing.”
Kinder Morgan said it is still investigating the cause and quantity of the leak and the appropriate regulatory agencies have been notified.