Crews Repairing Broken Pipeline

Repair work is continuing on an underground pipeline that was shut down after a section of pipe apparently slid 17 feet down a hillside, officials said.

Officials for Olympic Pipe Line Co., which owns and operates the 400-mile line, say the Thursday shutdown affects fuel supplies for “virtually everything from Renton to Portland.”

The pipeline connects oil refineries in Anacortes and Bellingham with terminals in Vancouver, Wash., and Portland.

Texaco, ARCO, Chevron and other gasoline suppliers said their fuel inventories can withstand a temporary shutdown, and urged consumers not to panic.

“I want to emphasize if people get all alarmed and everyone wants to fill up tanks they normally wouldn’t fill up, it might create an artificial rush that wouldn’t otherwise exist,” said Dale Andert, Texaco’s terminal manager in Portland.

No leaks or spills have been detected and the pipeline should be functional again by Tuesday, a company official said.