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Greensboro gas pumps busy amid pipeline shutdown, but experts call for calm

We don't know how long the Colonial Pipeline will be shut down, but gas prices could continue to go up. Filling up your tank unnecessarily could make it worse.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — There's a panic at the pump, up and down the east coast.

More than a thousand gas stations in the Southeast said they would run out of fuel Tuesday. People are flocking to them after a cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline.

Operations are shut down for at least a couple more days. Many gas stations in Greensboro have long lines or no gas at all.

RELATED: Go to these Greensboro gas stations if you need to fill up

Some people are trying to beat possible price increases while others are filling up just in case.

"You have a lot of people who need gas but there is not enough gas," Dr. Fafanyo Asiseh said.

Asiseh is an economics professor at North Carolina A&T.

"This is obviously the most important ransomware attack on an infrastructure company and an energy company that we've ever seen in the United States," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said.

It's not just our tanks and wallets that could be affected.

City and school buses rely on that same fuel too. So far, impacts are minimal in the Triad.

Guilford County Schools and the Greensboro Transit Authority said they're monitoring the situation.

High Point said it's got a three-week supply of diesel.

Alamance-Burlington School System said it has about 10 days of fuel on hand and is on a list to get more.

Piedmont Triad International Airport said it has enough to get through the rest of the week. All said they're forming contingency plans for a longer outage.

"The longer it lasts, the more issues we'll have. The more impact it's going to have on our economy," Asiseh said.

Stein said laws against price gouging are in effect, but Asiseh said prices could still go up if fuel supply remains low.

Both are asking for calm.

"Don't go out there and empty out all the gas like we did with toilet paper a year ago," Stein said.

"If you really don't need to go out, if you don't need to move your car don't move it," Asiseh said.

Stein said his office is investigating 38 reports of price gouging so far. If you suspect it at a local business, contact his office.

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