JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Experts tell Action News Jax panic-buying was to blame for gas shortages in Northeast Florida, not the cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline.
Marty Cook spends a lot of time on the road. He delivers Little Debbie snacks. He told Action News Jax he’s not worried about Florida’s gas supply.
“Thankfully I’m not out of gas, I still have like a quarter tank left,” Cook said.
Cook says people need to stop panic-buying.
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Action News Jax drove past dozens of gas stations Thursday afternoon. We saw no lines at the pumps. It was business as usual at Shell, WaWa, and Gate, for example.
The Colonial Pipeline relaunched operations Wednesday following a six-day shutdown. AAA’s Matt Nasworthy said that wasn’t the reason for a shortage, though. He told Action News Jax, people created a shortage by panic-buying gasoline.
Managers at Murphy Express agree. The gas station told Action News Jax that by around 3 p.m. Thursday that it was completely out of gas because of panic-buying Tuesday and Wednesday. A fuel truck came and resupplied the gas station with fuel later that afternoon.
“You’ll have some gas this afternoon and tomorrow here in Florida,” Cook added, saying he urges Floridians to stay calm.
AAA told Action News Jax most of Florida’s fuel arrives via ports, and that only about 10% of it comes through the Colonial Pipeline.