Bags covered many gas pumps locally
Thursday, causing anxious motorists to drive miles for gas that was
priced at more than $3 a gallon.
Thursday evening, the price of a regular gallon of gas in Rock Hill
ranged from about $3.09 to $3.29.
Some station operators had no clue when their next shipments would
come in, but others said their supply was sufficient and were confident
more gas was on the way.
Station owners and motorists worried about the availability because
of damage caused this week by Hurricane Katrina. Most of this region's
gasoline comes from the Colonial pipeline that begins in Texas and the
Plantation pipeline in Louisiana.
The Colonial pipeline resumed partial service and was expected to
operate at 40 percent capacity by the end of Thursday, just in time for
the long Labor Day weekend, the company said.
But that was hardly consolation to Rebecca Allen, the manager of Cone
on U.S. 21.
The station ran out of gas at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday after selling
$21,000, a $7,000 increase in sales from a normal day. Cone charged
$2.61 for regular until its supplies got very low, Allen said, then the
price increased to $2.96.
Other stations in the area faced the same problem of not knowing when
their next delivery would be.
"We're waiting to hear," Allen said.
And motorists such as Buddy Jarvis felt like they were wasting gas in
searching to find a station to fill up.
He drove south on Interstate 77 for miles so he could fill up his
work van. "I've hit every Exxon between Charlotte and here and everybody
is out," the forklift mechanic said while fueling up at a station off
Exit 77.
The Exxon only had supreme gas left, but Jarvis said he was just
thankful to have found some gas.
Police in Charlotte reported Thursday evening that 40 of Mecklenburg
County's 230 fueling stations were out of gas. Rock Hill police and the
York County Sheriff's Office are not keeping track of how many stations
are out of gas.
On Wednesday, some retailers were overrun by motorists wanting to
beat further increases.
"They were freaked out, they were rude, they were hostile," AAA
Carolinas spokesman Tom Crosby said. "They were doing what they were
asked not to do."
It was the biggest one-day gasoline price hike ever in the Carolinas,
he said.
As for Thursday: "The prices are fluctuating so rapidly we just can't
keep up with it," Crosby said.
Soaring prices
Like all stations, gasoline prices soared at C&M Convenience
Store on Peachtree Street in Hickory Grove since Hurricane Katrina hit
the Gulf Coast.
C&M was charging $3.40 a gallon for regular gas on Thursday
morning, up from $2.73 the day before.
Owner Christa Smarr said the gas distributor tells her the price she
needs to charge and her customers understand. "Most of them have been
decent about it. They know there's nothing we can do."
Gov. Mark Sanford said Thursday that the skyrocketing prices were
simply a function of the market and likely would come down when the
pipelines are running.
"One thing we need to guard against is panic-buying," Sanford said.
"It exacerbates the problem."
He asked for residents to conserve as much as possible during the
next two weeks.
The state also has asked for federal waivers of regulations involving
how long fuel tank drivers can be on the road and how much trucks can
weigh to help get more gas into South Carolina.
State agencies have been told to curtail all nonessential travel. For
example, the state Transportation Department will not be cutting grass
along rights of way until the fuel supply has improved.
Julie Graham • 329-4071
jgraham@heraldonline.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
