Two major petroleum-product pipelines in Los Angeles County are back up and running on Friday after they were temporarily shut down due to the ongoing wildfires.
The pipelines, which are operated by Kinder Morgan, have returned to service after being idle since Jan. 8.
The 515-mile-long SFPP West pipeline moves fuel from the Los Angeles Basin to Colton and Imperial, California, as well as to Phoenix, Arizona.
The CALNEV pipeline, which extends to some 566 miles, moves gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from Colton, California, to terminals in Barstow, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
During the shutdown, officials in Clark County urged residents to refrain from unnecessary panic buying and reassured the public that a solution would be put in place that would supply the Kinder Morgan fuel line into southern Nevada.
Las Vegas residents were also advised to reconsider unnecessary driving while the pipeline was down.
“In an abundance of caution, due to the fires in California, the main pipeline that brings gasoline and other fuels to the Las Vegas Valley looks to face temporary disruptions in service,” the City of Las Vegas wrote in a post on the X social media platform.
“The CalNev Pipeline is the key line that brings gasoline and other types of fuels from refineries in California to Las Vegas. It is over 560 miles long. We have assessed fuel reserves for emergency response vehicles and are confident we will continue to provide emergency services for the duration of this event.”
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the intentional power outages that were implemented to prevent more fires from erupting were partially to blame for water shortages in the Los Angeles area.
“What I know from talking to the governor, that there are concerns out there that there’s also been a water shortage,” Biden said. “The fact is the utilities, understandably, shut off power because they were worried the lines that carried energy were going to be blown down and spark additional fires. But the CAL FIRE, when it did that, it cut off the ability to generate pumping the water—that’s what caused the lack of water in these hydrants.”
Biden added that CAL FIRE was bringing in generators to get the water pumps back up and working again.
Meanwhile, thousands of residents remain without power in neighborhoods across Los Angeles County.
Fire officials said on Friday morning that progress had been made overnight in battling some of the blazes due to more favorable conditions.
The Palisades Fire was 8 percent contained, the Hurst Fire 37 percent contained, and the Kenneth Fire 35 percent contained as of Friday morning.
A total of 153,000 residents remain under evacuation orders.