Hoarding or helping? Social media spotlights customers buying extra gas

@Adriennecovin1: These ppl are the ones causing grief for everyone else. Your the reason there's a gas shortage!! @Adriennecovin1: These ppl are the ones causing grief for everyone else. Your the reason there's a gas shortage!! Photo: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Photo: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Hoarding or helping? Social media spotlights customers buying extra gas 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

San Antonians have been repeatedly asked to not hoard gas amid the days-long fuel frenzy.

Many apparently haven't listened.

Since Thursday, when a run on gas strained the city's supply, people have been spotted at gas stations, filling garbage cans and water jugs. And since Thursday, people on social media have delighted in shaming their fellow commuters and, in some cases, defending them.

Photos from across the state, especially in places like Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, show unidentified people using a wide array of containers to haul extra gas away.

RELATED: Mayor again urges calm as residents continue to cause gas shortage with panic buying

San Antonio Fire Department Spokesman Woody Woodward warned against the dangers of mishandling the flammable liquid.

"Do not use containers not specifically manufactured to hold gasoline, and do not travel by foot or bicycle transporting gasoline," he said in an email.

On Tuesday, the San Antonio Fire Department, in a Facebook post, again asked residents to only store fuel in approved containers.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg sought to reassure residents that the San Antonio market is being prioritized.

"[...] gas is being delivered daily and in greater quantities than usual," he said on Facebook and Twitter. "But demand has not decreased, with our city consuming more fuel than average largely due to panic and hoarding."

Nirenberg said he would like to impose restrictions, but that is a state authority.

"People are experiencing a gas shortage because others are loading up on more than necessary," he said online. "If we all work on fueling as needed and not over consuming, we will expedite our return to normal."

While some blamed the "hoarders" for the ongoing problem and are enraged to see people filling more than their tanks, others noted the extra gas could be for people on the Coast whose homes or businesses were damaged.

"Are these people buying gas in large quantities to bring down south to help out fellow Texans in need," Instagram user @psychicwarfare asked. "Warms my heart to see so many folks thinking of others."

John Anthony Salazar, a Facebook user, echoed the viewpoint.

"Chances are, someone yelled at this guy at a a service station gassing up these 5 cans, perhaps in San Antonio, Austin, elsewhere...'Gas hoarder!' is what could have been screamed at this unsuspecting guy," he wrote in a post. "Well, I saw this gentleman driving on state Highway 35 near Aransas Pass [...] he might need that extra fuel folks."

Click through the images to see what people have been posting.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye