Gas prices throughout the Southland shot up, mainly during the past 24 hours, in response to a supply issue caused by a major refinery fire in Northern California, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.956 per gallon, which is 10.3 cents more than last week, 25 cents higher than last month, and 17 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the price is $3.939, 10.1 cents above last week, 25 cents above last month, and 16 cents higher than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.981, up 9.7 cents from last week, 19 cents higher than a month ago, and 15 cents above last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $3.919, up 10.3 cents from last week, 24 cents higher than last month, and 15 cents more than last year.
“Monday night’s major fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond had an immediate effect on the wholesale gasoline market on Tuesday, which has caused gas prices to shoot up since then,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “Southern Californians have already been experiencing increased pump prices for nearly a month due to higher oil prices, and this incident has just made the increases come even more quickly. However, since that Northern California refinery is still partly operating, the impact may not be as great as what happened in February with the Cherry Point refinery fire in Washington. More should be known in the next few days.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Aug. 9, averages are:
Area | Regular | One-week change | Record Price |
Los Angeles – Long Beach | $3.956 | +10.3 cents | $4.626 (6/21/08) |
Orange County | $3.944 | +10.8 cents | $4.598 (6/19/08) |
San Diego | $3.939 | +10.1 cents | $4.630 (6/19/08) |
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc | $3.981 | +9.7 cents | $4.709 (6/21/08) |
Riverside – San Bernardino | $3.919 | +10.3 cents | $4.614 (6/22/08) |
Bakersfield | $3.867 | +6.4 cents | $4.591 (6/24/08) |
Ventura | $3.954 | +11.2 cents | $4.625 (6/18/08) |