Gasoline pipelines to Vegas shut down

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.

Heavy rains in California have forced the shutdown of the pipelines that deliver gas to the Las Vegas Valley from California.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners shut down both its West Line and Cal-Nev pipeline system Sunday after rains uncovered the buried pipelines in some places, Kinder Morgan spokesman Rick Rainey said.

"The heavy rains have caused some of the soil around the pipelines to wash away, exposing the pipes, causing us to shut them down as a safety precaution," Rainey said.

Kinder Morgan crews began inspecting the pipelines Tuesday afternoon to ensure that none have been damaged by the weather and that it is safe to restart the flow of gasoline, Rainey said.

The pipelines are expected to be up and running by Friday, Rainey said.

The West Line transports gasoline, jet fuel and diesel from Los Angeles refineries to Colton, Calif, near San Bernardino, Calif., east of Interstate 15. The Cal-Nev transports gasoline from Colton to Las Vegas.

There are no immediate problems with supply in the markets affected by the shutdown, Rainey said.

"This could be a little flash in the pan that results in no real problems," Rainey said.

The pipeline to Las Vegas was previously shut down on Nov. 22 for two days when it burst outside of Baker, Calif.