An Alabama couple went viral earlier this week for stockpiling gas during a panicked rush on gas stations sparked by the temporary closure of the Colonial pipeline, which transports nearly half of the East Coast's fuel supply from Texas.
The Colonial pipeline restarted operations on Wednesday, two days after that photo was taken. The panic buying didn't stop, though.
A driver in Homosassa, Florida, on Wednesday filled up four five-gallons containers of gas and placed them in the back of a Hummer H2, which shortly burst into flames. "Firefighters say one person was injured but refused to be transported for treatment, against medical advice," WFLA reports. It took about 10 minutes to extinguish the fire, the Miami Herald reports, and the Florida State Fire Marshal will investigate the cause of the explosion.
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Homosassa is in Citrus County, just north of Tampa Bay. "Experts say the crunch for gas in Florida has less to do with the cyberattack and more to do with people hoarding gas," the Herald reports. President Biden on Thursday urged Americans not to "get more gas than you need in the next few days." Specifically, "there's no need for concern in Tampa Bay because Florida gets 90 percent of its gas supply from cargo ships," WFLA adds.
Unsafe gas hoarding was enough of a problem in the Southeast that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offered some advice on Wednesday.
But if you want to mock people for panic-buying gas or, say, blowing up their Hummers, the CPSC requests you kindly refrain. Peter Weber
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