‘It was a little easier today’: Carolinas slowly regaining fuel after cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Gas stations across the Carolinas are slowly beginning to refuel their tanks.

It has been a frustrating fight to find gasoline for many since the cyberattack against the Colonial Pipeline that caused shortages throughout the Southeast.

The impact of the pipeline hack has especially hit North Carolina hard.

As of 9 p.m., 58 percent of gas stations still were without fuel in North Carolina, according to GasBuddy. It was at 50 percent outage in South Carolina.

Those two were the states impacted the most.

“It was a little easier today,” a driver told WBTV. “The gas station that was closest to the house didn’t have gas, so I had to ride around to find a gas station. I found one today. There weren’t any lines today, so it is getting a little bit better.”

On Friday, GasBuddy reported that 70 percent of gas stations were out of fuel in Charlotte, forcing people to panic and fill up their tank at any first sight of gasoline.

Gasoline prices rose while tanks continued to fill those gas station pumps.

The national gas price, as of Sunday afternoon, was $3.02 per gallon.

Colonial Pipeline said it is back up and running.

On Sunday, we went to several gas stations across the Charlotte area, including a Circle K on Freedom Drive in west Charlotte.

A truck driver filling up fuel tanks said the main issues are with mid-grade and premium gas.

He also said that this gas station is relatively close to a gas terminal, which is why it has been able to keep up with the demand.

Based on Gas Buddy data, the epicenter of restoration efforts appears to be North Carolina.

Colonial Pipeline, the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline, was hit on May 7th by a ransomware attack.

On Saturday, officials announced that it has resumed “normal operations,” delivering fuel to its markets, including a large swath of the East Coast.

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