The pumps were completely dry and attendants were not sure when they would get more gas. One station in Belmont was asking drivers to limit their fuel purchase to $50.
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Deal’s declaration – which comes on top of ones in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia that suspended limitations on trucking hours – effectively freezes gas prices. The shortage also sent prices edging up. A disaster drill was coincidentally held a year ago near the scene of the spill, he said, and that helped the company plan and execute a response that included about 700 people so far.
Several gas stations in Cherokee have raised gas prices from $2.16 a gallon last week to $2.39 a gallon on Monday and even as high as $2.69 in Ball Ground, according to gasbuddy.com. That means that some others will run out.
A gas station displays a sign informing customers it is out of certain grades of gasoline in Atlanta, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016.
On Friday, Gov. Pat McCrory signed an executive order to help ensure there was an adequate supply of fuel across the state.
McCrory’s office issued a statement Sunday night saying a pipeline fix in Alabama should soon have normal supplies flowing to North Carolina.
Colonial Pipeline has yet to issue a timeline of when consumers might begin to expect fuel supplies to return to normal.
The pipeline is one of two major pipelines that sends gas from Texas to NY, supplying much of north Georgia.
“You’re still close to where you can get gas (from other sources)”, DeHaan said.
The gas spill reportedly happened in part of a pipeline in Helena, Ala.
WHAT CAUSED THE SHORTAGEThe Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Houston to NY, had a 250,000-gallon leak in Alabama. It’s unclear when the spill actually started. The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating.
Patrick Sheehan of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said Middle and East Tennessee have had spotty unavailability of fuel.
Deal is encouraging Georgians to stick to their normal gas-buying habits and not to buy out of panic.
And some South Georgia folks said it’s a fear they think could cause trouble. The Colonial Pipeline has said it anticipates reopening the line later this week with the bypass in use, but it remains unclear how quickly they will be able to fix Line 1.
The company said it is shipping as much gasoline as possible on its distillate mainline, Line 2, in order to mitigate the impact of the pipeline that has been shut down.
Colonial still projects a full restart of its damaged gasoline line, which typically hauls about 1.3 million barrels a day, by this week.
The Colonial gasoline pipeline had been expected to come back online quickly, but on Thursday the company delayed the restart until this week.
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Numerous drivers have already been told by their dispatch units that they will return to Wilmington tomorrow to refuel as they are unable to get fuel in their respective areas.
