Nevada governor declares state of emergency over fuel pipeline leak

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) declared a state of emergency on Friday night after a leak forced the shutdown of a fuel pipeline that supplies Las Vegas and southern Nevada.

The leak, which was detected at a pumping station in Long Beach, Calif., on Thursday, resulted in the closure of the Kinder Morgan pipeline that runs between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

“Tonight, I am declaring a state of emergency for the fuel pipeline leak impacting Southern Nevada,” Lombardo said in a statement posted to Twitter. “This emergency declaration will allow us to receive federal waivers and resources as we navigate the evolving repair timeline, and it will allow us to increase transportation of fuel by other means during this time.”

“To avoid any unnecessary shortages, I strongly urge all Las Vegas residents to avoid panic buying while awaiting repair timeline updates,” he added.

Despite the warning, several videos and images on social media showed long lines at gas stations in Las Vegas.

Clark County officials also issued an emergency declaration early Saturday morning in coordination with the governor, in an effort 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,” the county said in a statement on Twitter.

“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,” it added.

Kinder Morgan spokesperson Katherine Hill said the company expects the impacted pipelines to resume operations and begin delivering fuel to their respective markets by Saturday afternoon.

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