NASHVILLE -- Many Tennessee communities gripped by a gas shortage were in panic mode over the weekend, and bad news from AAA did not help to calm them.

Dry Gas Pumps Greet Tenn. Residents

AAA said Saturday that supplies in the state may not return to normal until late next week, but until then, they said everyone needs to deal with the crisis in a reasonable manner.

The latest updated came a day after Gov. Phil Bredesen stated that the colonial pipeline that provides much of the Nashville area's supply was at 100 percent capacity.

AAA stated that the pipeline is still experiencing interruptions because of power problems caused by Hurricane Ike. It said it does not expect normal service to be restored until next Friday.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that supplies are running as normal, but higher demand has drained reserve tanks.

TEMA referred to the short supply as a temporary pinch point.

Many rumors surfaced during the shortage about gas trucks being held up at the border and shutdowns occurring at stations. None of the rumors were true.

Officials said rumors can cause panic in an already tense environment and can cause more problems in the long run.

Officials said they wanted to stress to the communities that no one should be hording gasoline, cars should only be refilled when they are close to empty and drivers should not top off tanks when they are half full or more.

Police were called for gasoline deliveries, as drivers crammed the station looking for fuel.

In some cases, people were given limits on how much gas they could pump.

The manager at one Daily-brand gas station said that her bosses sent out a companywide e-mail promising that trucks were on the way with gas and would arrive either Saturday or Sunday. She said she later heard that there were more issues with a pipeline, which she knew meant more long lines.

One man waiting at a gas station stood in line and filled up a gas can, saying that his vehicle was stuck at "E" in his driveway.

Officials said a barge arrived Friday with more than 1 million gallons of unleaded fuel and 3 million gallons of diesel.

They said, however, that demand will suck that up faster than the next delivery will arrive.