By TOM FOREMAN JR., JEFF MARTIN and BEN FINLEY, Associated Press
CLEMMONS, N.C. (AP) — Gas pumps remained shrouded by plastic bags Thursday at thousands of service stations across more than a dozen U.S. states, but the situation could improve as a pipeline company reported “substantial progress" in resuming operations after a computer hack led to its shutdown.
Despite signs of progress in restarting the pipeline, nearly 70% of North Carolina's gas stations on Thursday were still without fuel, as were about half the stations in South Carolina and Georgia, GasBuddy.com reported.
Drivers on the East Coast were also having trouble, with more than half the stations tapped out in Virginia. Washington, D.C., was among the hardest-hit places Thursday, with 73% of stations out, the site's tracking service showed.
“I can’t get paid until my customers get their products,” said Mary Goldburg of Norfolk, Virginia, whose job includes delivering T-shirts for events and other promotional products.
In a Thursday update, the Georgia-based pipeline company said gasoline delivery is now underway in most of its markets.
The Colonial Pipeline stretches from Texas to New Jersey, but the northeastern U.S. has seen fewer disruptions since those states are supplied more by other sources such as ocean tankers.
Gas is flowing again across most of the Deep South, and other parts that were offline in the Mid-Atlantic region were expected to become operational later Thursday, the company said.
“We are not out of the woods yet, but the trees are thinning out,” Richard Joswick, global head of oil analytics at S&P Global Platts said in an email. He estimates that full recovery for the East Coast and Gulf Coast will take a couple of weeks at least due to lags and limits for all shipping options.
The cybersecurity attack on the Colonial Pipeline forced a temporary shutdown of the nation's largest fuel pipeline, prompting panic-buying and long lines that quickly wiped out supplies around the southeastern U.S. The company resumed pipeline operations late Wednesday, but said it would take several days for deliveries to return to normal.
President Joe Biden said Thursday that U.S. officials do not believe the Russian government was involved in the Colonial Pipeline hack, but “we do have strong reason to believe that the criminals who did the attack are living in Russia. That’s where it came from.”
The U.S. had been in direct communication with Moscow about the need to take action against ransom networks, Biden said. The FBI has said the ransomware belonged to a criminal syndicate known as DarkSide.
In Virginia, the run on gas prompted an urgent warning Thursday that people should never siphon gasoline after calls in recent days about people being poisoned.
There have been a handful of cases in the region covered by the Blue Ridge Poison center at UVA Health, including a significant one Wednesday that prompted the warning, said Dr. Chris Holstege, the center’s medical director.
A man using an opaque hose to siphon gasoline from a vehicle sucked gasoline right into his lungs, causing significant distress, Holstege said. He is expected to recover and didn’t have to go to intensive care, he said.
The governors of both North Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency to help ensure access. Other governors urged people not to hoard supplies.
“Now that Colonial has restarted pipeline operations, we will see a gradually increasing return to normal conditions that will take several days,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement Thursday.
The Colonial Pipeline delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast. There is no gasoline shortage, according to government officials and energy analysts, just delays in delivering the fuel from Gulf Coast refineries.
The distribution problems have been fraying nerves.
Two people were charged with assault after spitting in each other's faces over spots in a line at a Marathon station in Knightdale, outside Raleigh, on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
In Walton County, Georgia, paramedic Jeff Lisle had just under a quarter-tank of gas in his Jeep and found a small amount in the cans he uses for his lawnmower in case he needed the extra boost to get to work.
The shutdown even affected hikers long the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. They depend on cars and vans to access the trail and get supplies.
“Everybody’s out here buying from the same gas pumps, so the lines are long, some are out — you’ve really got to look for it,” said Ron Brown, who operates Ron’s Appalachian Trail Shuttles.
In Georgia, racetracks and other entertainment venues rely on many fans who drive from surrounding states such as Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, and the concern is that higher gas prices – or shortages – might keep fans at home.
“Fuel prices do affect the amount of people who come, especially long distances,” said Sydney Marshall, general manager of the South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Georgia, and the Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida. “It’s definitely a concern of mine because if there’s a gas shortage, people aren’t going to be able to get here.”
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CLEMMONS, N.C. (AP) —The nation’s largest fuel pipeline restarted operations, days after it was forced to shut down by a gang of hackers.
The disruption caused long lines at gas stations in the Southeast due to distribution problems and panic-buying, draining supplies at thousands of gas stations.
Colonial Pipeline said all lines, including those lateral lines that have been running manually, will return to normal operations. But it will take several days for deliveries to return to normal. In the meantime, drivers have been finding gas stations with little or no gas in some Southeast states.
A run on gas following the computer hack of the fuel pipeline had North Carolina tow-truck driver Jonathan King worried about whether he could do his job.
“I drive all over the place,” King said at a packed gas station outside Winston-Salem on Wednesday. “It gets really busy. And yeah, with the fuel going the way it’s going, it’s going to be very hard for us. Hopefully we’ll be able to get through it.”
The cybersecurity attack on the Colonial Pipeline has prompted fuel-hoarding and panic-buying in parts of the Southeastern U.S., striking fear and stress among those who’ve waited in long lines for gas. And while Colonial initiated the restart of pipeline operations late Wednesday, the company said it will take several days for deliveries to return to normal.
The scene at gas stations was far from typical Wednesday after governors of both North Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency to help ensure supply and access to gas.
As people in the region emerge from the lockdowns and limitations of the coronavirus pandemic, some feared the prospect of lost wages and missed doctors appointments. They also worried about canceling plans with family members who they were only beginning to see again.
Mary Goldburg, 60, of Norfolk, Virginia, said she needs her car for work but also to see her grandchildren — whom she barely got to see last year. Her job includes delivering T-shirts for events and other promotional products.
“I can’t get paid until my customers get their products,” said Goldburg as a slow-operating pump filled her tank for more than 20 minutes at a 7-Eleven.
Construction worker Jamar Gatison, 36, was also filling up his tank there Wednesday before he had a doctor’s appointment.
“I’m about to run out of gas, so I have no choice,” Gatison said, adding that he is also is an Uber Eats driver but wasn’t planning on delivering food that night because he didn’t want to wait in line again.
Restaurants and bars, which are already struggling to fill job openings, will find themselves particularly squeezed, said Robert McNab, an economics professor at Virginia’s Old Dominion University. Some workers may not be able to come to work. And some customers may abandon plans to eat out.
“In all likelihood, these service workers will be impacted most significantly, with rising fuel and food prices eating a larger part of their household budgets and income being reduced this month by the fear-induced shortage of gasoline,” McNab said.
The Colonial Pipeline delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast. There is no gasoline shortage, according to government officials and energy analysts. But there has been a problem getting the fuel from refineries on the Gulf Coast to the states that need it, and officials have been scrambling to find alternate routes to deliver that fuel.
The distribution problems and panic-buying have been draining supplies at thousands of gas stations. On Wednesday, four to five cars were lined up at each pump at a Circle K in Clemmons, North Carolina, a community southwest of Winston-Salem along I-40.
Detlef Badorrek said he drove to four gas stations before he found one where he could fill up his car. He expressed concern that motorists may become a little more unnerved as the situation extends itself.
“I sense things could go a little bit more desperately as time goes by. So far, it’s reasonable,” he said.
But not for everyone, apparently. Two people were charged with assault after a fight over spots in a line at a Marathon gas station in Knightdale, outside Raleigh, on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
The man and woman arguing over spots each spat in the other’s face before the fight turned physical and a cellphone was damaged, police said.
Video posted on Instagram shows two cars bumped up against each other at a gas station. The woman was charged with simple assault and the man was charged with assault on a female and damage to personal property, police said. Both were cited and released with a pending court date.
In Walton County, Georgia, paramedic Jeff Lisle had just under a quarter-tank of gas in his Jeep — but no one knew of any stations near his house that had gas. So, he went to his garage and found a small amount in the cans he uses for his lawnmower in case he needed the extra boost to make it to work.
As for the ambulances he works in, “we have to buy fuel at gas stations like everybody else does,” he said. That means that whenever possible, the ambulances have been stopping to refuel when they’re lucky enough to drive past a station with gas.
Along the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine, hikers depend on car and van shuttles to access the trail and get supplies.
“Everybody’s out here buying from the same gas pumps, so the lines are long, some are out -- you’ve really got to look for it,” said Ron Brown, who operates Ron’s Appalachian Trail Shuttles and often takes hikers from Atlanta’s airport into the north Georgia mountains..
But he said that hikers are resourceful enough to get where they need to go.
“It will get rectified because it’s a big deal, and everybody needs gas,” he said. “We’ll just make due until it does.”
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