Officials warn people not to fill plastic bags with gasoline amid panic over gas shortage

Officials are warning people not to pour gasoline into plastic bags amid panic over a shortage of gas in southeastern states. The shortage comes after a massive hack of Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 4% of the East Coast's total fuel, by a Russia-based criminal group. 

From Maryland to Florida, social media posts show vehicles waiting in long lines for gas. At least two tweets — a photo of a car trunk holding clear bags filled with gasoline and a video of a woman pouring gas in a plastic bag — suggested panicked customers were storing gasoline in bags. While the posts were found by Snopes to be several years old, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission nevertheless posted a flurry of tweets advising people not to carry gasoline in plastic bags or any other container not approved to carry fuel.  "Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline," the agency tweeted Wednesday.