Colonial Pipeline temporarily shuts down part of its gas lines that run from Houston to Greensboro due to Ida

(WJZY) -- The Colonial Pipeline has temporarily shut down part of its gas lines due to precautionary measures following the landfall of Hurricane Ida, the company announced Sunday afternoon.

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Lines 1 and 2 will be shut down for safety measures. The lines fuel deliveries from Houston to Greensboro.

Colonial Pipeline is the largest petroleum products pipeline in the United States and carries half the fuel across the east coast.

Fuel supply continues to be available throughout the southeast from numerous terminals located along the supply route. Lines 3 and 4, which fuels from the northeast from Greensboro to Linden, N.J. are operating as normal.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors and colleagues across the southern coastline impacted by this extreme weather event,” said Wes Dunbar, vice president of operations for Colonial Pipeline. ​“As part of our weather preparedness and response plans, we have procedures in place to ensure the safety, protection and integrity of our pipeline and our assets – including proactively shutting down our lines when necessary.”

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The pipeline was shut down earlier this year causing panic in the southeast after a cyberattack.

Colonial Pipeline says they have an extensive emergency preparedness program in place for Hurricane Ida and will implement its emergency response plan, with the preparations included below:

• Reviewing hurricane preparedness plans and updating as appropriate.
• Ensuring emergency response equipment is inventoried and in top working condition. 
• Placing additional equipment at appropriate facilities to support storm response.
• Reviewing and updating contracts with vendors and other special services.
• Monitoring multiple forecasting systems to ensure any response effort is well prepared.

“We know that millions of Americans, along with our customers and other businesses, benefit from our system for critical fuel supplies at times like these,” added Dunbar. ​“We try to be as prepared as possible for these types of weather events through extensive and continuous planning that prioritizes the safety of the public, our employees and contractors, and the reliable operation of our pipeline. I’m proud of the preparations by our team in advance of Ida’s landfall.”