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Panic Grips Area During Gas Shortage

AAA: Gas Won't Return To Normal For 1 Week

POSTED: 8:41 am CDT September 19, 2008
UPDATED: 2:15 am CDT September 21, 2008

Many communities gripped by a gas shortage were in panic mode over the weekend, and bad news from AAA did not help to calm them.

Scroll below to comment where you have found gas or where there is no gas. | Watch This Story | More Video | More Video

AAA said Saturday that supplies may not return to normal until late next week, but until then, they said everyone needs to deal with the crisis in a reasonable manner.

The latest updated comes the day after Gov. Phil Bredesen stated that the colonial pipeline that provides much of the area's supply was at 100 percent capacity.

AAA stated that the pipeline is still experiencing interruptions due to power problems caused by Hurricane Ike.

They said they do not expect normal service to be restored until next Friday.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that supplies are running as normal, but do to the higher demand, reserve tanks were drained.

TEMA referred to the short supply as a temporary pinch point.

Many rumors surfaced during the shortage about gas trucks being held up at the border and shut downs occurring at stations. None of the rumors has any truth to it.

Officials said rumors can cause panic in an already tense environment and can cause more problems in the long run.

Officials said they wanted to stress to the communities that no one should be hording gasoline, cars should only be refilled when they are close to empty and drivers should not top off tanks when they are half full or more.

Channel Fours' Cynthia Williams spent Saturday traveling from different Tennessee communities.

Williams reported that in the Music City, chaos broke out close to midnight at a Pilot station on Trinity Lane.

Many at the station had to push their cars to the pump, adding another annoyance to a stressful day.

Franklin had a similar situation, Williams reported.

Police were called for gasoline deliveries, as drivers crammed the station looking for fuel.

In parts of Franklin only one or two gas stations had fuel.

In some cases, people were given limits on how much gas they could pump.

The manager at one Dailys gas station said that her bosses sent out a companywide e-mail promising that trucks were on the way with gas and would arrive either Saturday or Sunday. She said she later heard that there were more issues with a pipeline, which she knew meant more long lines.

One man waiting at a gas station stood in line and filled up a gas can, saying that his vehicle was stuck at "E" in his driveway.

Officials said a barge arrived Friday with more than 1 million gallons of unleaded fuel and 3 million gallons of diesel.

They said, however, that demand will suck that up faster than the next delivery will arrive.

Please send an e-mail to news@wsmv.com if you are having problems finding gas:

  • Where did you find/not find gas in your part of town today?

  • Did you see anything unusual (stranded drivers, etc.)

  • What else have you heard or been told?


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