West coast pipeline resumes pumping gas after shutdown

The cause of the leak remains under investigation, according to the pipeline operator Kinder Morgan

A gas pipeline on the West coast that was shutdown by a leak at a pipeline facility in California has resumed operations.

The shutdown had affected deliveries of gasoline and diesel from the Los Angeles area east to areas including Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The source of the leak was isolated within its facility in Long Beach, California, and resumed fuel delivery by Saturday afternoon, according to pipeline operator Kinder Morgan.

The leak was discovered Thursday afternoon, shutting down the pipelines while the crews worked to resolve the issue.

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Customer filling up at gas station

A motorist fuels up at a gas station in Santa Cruz, California. A leak in a fuel pipeline facility in California has forced a shutdown of deliveries of gasoline and diesel from the Los Angeles to areas including Las Vegas and Phoenix. ((AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) / AP Newsroom)

The amount and cause of the leak were under investigation, said Kinder Morgan communications manager Katherine Hill. Clark County officials said they believed supplies would not be affected by the leak.

"As the pipeline is expected to be fully operational by this evening, I again urge Las Vegas residents to refrain from panic buying fuel," said Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, who had declared a state of emergency to help mitigate the impact of the leak.

Kinder Morgan sign

The headquarters of U.S. energy exporter and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan. (REUTERS/Gary McWilliams / Reuters Photos)

The pipeline supplies fuel to storage facilities in southern Nevada with unleaded and diesel fuel, according to Clark County officials. Another pipeline operated by UNEV Pipeline LLC serves the Las Vegas area from northern Utah.

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Kinder Morgan says only one of the two pipelines that serves Las Vegas was shutdown.

Airports it serves include Nellis Air Force Base and Harry Reid International in Las Vegas and Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert, the company said.

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Kinder Morgan's SFPP West pipeline runs approximately 515 miles to transport petroleum products from the Los Angeles area to Colton and Imperial, California, and east to Phoenix.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.