A spokesman says diesel fuel was accidentally loaded into the regular unleaded fuel tanks. The Costco spokesman says approximately 140 customers who filled up between 6 am and 8:45 are affected.
Costco stopped selling regular unleaded and offered its premium gasoline at regular prices for the rest of the day
Costco spokesman Jeff Cole says the company will pay repair bills for all customers affected.
People in Fresno are also reporting gas problems, including customers at Bad Bud's located at Cedar and Herndon in Northeast Fresno.
Bad Buds' owner and Costco spokesman Jeff Cole both say they have traced the problem to a distribution facility located just south of Fresno that's owned by Kinder Morgan.
Late Friday afternoon, Kinder Morgan acknowledged the problem and issued this statement:
"It appears that gasoline was inadvertently mixed with diesel fuel and was loaded into approximately 16 tanker trucks that picked up regular gasoline between 5 p.m. last night and 4 a.m. at our Fresno Terminal. The tanker trucks deliver gasoline to service stations in the Fresno area. Premium gasoline was not affected.
It is possible that cars could stall if they obtain gasoline mixed with diesel.
We have contacted all the tanker truck companies that picked up the non-specification gasoline. Thirteen service stations have stopped dispensing gasoline from tanks containing potentially non-specification gasoline until it can be removed. Kinder Morgan does not own the tanker trucks or the service stations.
We are investigating how the gasoline was mixed with diesel fuel.
We sincerely apologize to anyone who has been inconvenienced by this situation and we will promptly address claims presented by the owners of the product, the service stations impacted and the owners of vehicles that may have been affected."
Action News is now trying to track down exactly which stations were affected.
