Search for gas continues for many NC drivers as pipeline reopens

Online site GasBuddy.com said 68 percent of stations in the Raleigh area were out of fuel on Thursday, down slightly from a high of 74 percent on Wednesday night.

The dry pumps left many drivers frantically searching for fuel, and lines of cars snaked around parking lots and down nearby streets at stations that had gas. Drivers waiting in line, sometimes for more than an hour, said they worried that the gas would run out before it was their turn at the pump.

"I've been looking for about two days," Isaiah Fuller said. "I am almost on E (empty) now."

"For a whole entire day now," Benny Kahaza said when asked how long his search for gas had lasted.

Thomas Dowd said he drove from Raleigh to a station on N.C. Highway 54 in Chapel Hill to find gas.

"If I did find a gas station that was open, the line was a quarter- to a half-mile long," Dowd said. "It'd take you upwards of an hour to get in there."

Some drivers were so close to running out of gas, they were afraid to idle as they waited in line.

Kahaza said that, if he couldn't get gas at the station where he was, he wouldn't have enough to get to school. Others said they were worried about getting to work. Some even said they might not have enough gas in their tanks to find another open station and would be stuck.

Wright said that fuel supplies are returning slowly.

"I can tell you, right now, the Carolinas nationally are a priority,” she said. "In about a week’s time, we should be – if we are not panic buying – we should be back to normal."

Fuel Tracker: Where to find gas in your area

The same can't be said for gas prices, however.

"We are still, for the foreseeable future, going to see higher gas prices at the pump. They shoot up like a rocket and fall like a feather," Wright said.

On Thursday morning, AAA noted the average gas price in Wake County was $2.89 a gallon. In Durham County, the average was $2.93, and it was $2.87 in Cumberland County.

Gov. Roy Cooper and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared states of emergency to help ensure supply and access to gas.

Cooper said Thursday that state emergency management officials have contingency plans in place to maintain essential government services and public safety as the fuel supply stabilizes in the coming days.

“Most local governments have their own fuel supplies for emergency and public safety vehicles,” North Carolina Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said in a statement. “Some are tapping into contracts with emergency fuel suppliers, if their normal fuel sources run dry.”

Cooper continued to discourage panic buying, saying that would only delay a return to normal operations at gas stations statewide.

“You are going to see increasing amounts of fuel over the next few days, and hopefully things are back to normal by the weekend," Cooper said. "Long term, we need to look more at electric vehicles and not becoming so reliant on fossil fuels."

Experts said it could be several days before the struggle to find gas subsides. Friday is known as the busiest day to fill up.

"You're probably looking at Sunday or Monday before things are back to normal," said Rice University professor Ken Medlock. "Some of the stations that I've already seen that are out of fuel will have fuel again."

Government officials and energy experts said that the problem lies with getting fuel from the refineries on the Gulf Coast to states like North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina. Stations are scrambling trying to find alternate routes to deliver fuel.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said his office had received more than 600 complaints of price gouging at gas stations since Tuesday. President Joe Biden said the federal government would assist states in investigating complaints and cracking down on violators.