RUNNING ON EMPTY: Full-blown gas panic is on in Asheville; gas shoots over $4 a gallon; stations sell out and don’t know when they’ll see resupply

Jason Sandford September 12, 2008

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Forget what I said earlier — go ahead and freak the eff out over gas prices and gas supplies. This morning, I’m seeing stations with empty fuel tanks. Shut down. Old men in land yachts vainly circling the empty pumps.

I’ve gotten one report that gas is $4.05 at at least one station in Asheville. Are all stations now selling for more than $4 a gallon? What are you seeing? Are you freaking out yet?

My sources also tell me that the full-blown panic is on in Western North Carolina, with convenience store operators and gas stations running out of options. Some convenience stores are now limiting how many gallons of gas you can buy — I’ve heard a 10-gallon limit is becoming common. And gas stations don’t know when they’ll get their next load of re-supply.

So I’m saying top off your tank now. Looks like gas is definitely headed up toward $5-a-gallon territory. Freak the eff out, people. Take your 55-gallon drums to the station. Take your lawn mowers and scooters and chainsaws and fill those bad boys up NOW!

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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17 Comments

vv-Liberty September 24, 2008

Couple day’s before Ike "they" were trying to figure out what to do about oil price falling down.
( O-o-o-o ,YES! WE WILL HAVE GAS SHORTEGE!.) That was perfect idia, that worked great. Now gues who is going to park theyre car and ride scooder, o yhea it won’t be thouse who drive in Hummers and Escalade.
People, ple-e-ease, what are you going to do about it!.

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Jacq September 23, 2008

When will Asheville have gas? Need to get to south asheville for surgery??? Does the bus go all the way to Skyland?

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Tommy September 23, 2008

I tried to not fill up until I needed to…. Now i really need to and I can’t find any gas 🙁

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dawg September 23, 2008

Its good to see there are more peolple out there there that have a little sense. Fuel companies are smart. See the price per barrel drop like a rock, seems like a good time to say there is a shortage. Yesterday a barrel went up like $17 a barrel. I bet get will start showing up soon now that they got what they want.

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ashvegas chick September 14, 2008

so let me understand this…..we were supposed to not run out and top off when gas was stil $3.67, but wait a few days until it hits $4.50?

i can’t believe these fucking gas stations can get away with this.

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Irre September 14, 2008

Dear People,

Resupply is weeks away. Conserve what you have.

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Zipperhead September 12, 2008

I just drove around south Asheville and saw the yocals filling up their buckets with gas. Come on people you created this by rushing out to fill up when you did not need to. If you had filled up when you usually do. That means all of you. There would still be gas. Instead the masses toped off tanks they normally would not and hence the shortage. Doh.

Where is my 55 gallon drum any way? Oh yeah, used it for water since we were supposed to run out of it last June.

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PBnJ September 12, 2008

WLOS did run a story a noon for everyone to call down and not run out and top off, which was echoed by a AAA "expert", however they effed up their efforts by stating that the Ingles station on Long Shoals Rd. was out of gas AGAIN. In the background, the price was showing $3.99 a gallon…they said they already sold all of their 8,000 gallons they received yesterday evening.

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Bill September 12, 2008

try driving like I do for work… 2pm Hickory… already been to Saluda, Forrest City, Statesville… still have to go to Drexel, Marion and Waynesville at least.

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Ash September 12, 2008

i’m going to go waste a bunch of gas by driving around to local gas stations to see what prices are and what’s going on.

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No One In Particular September 12, 2008

The TV news folks (all of them, not just WLOS) started this by reporting on gas supplies getting low, and now at noon today they came on the air telling everybody to just calm down. Fill up as you normally would and all will be fine. Good advice to follow. If everybody hadn’t run to fill up their tanks (which were probably 3/4 full already) last night, then there wouldn’t even be a problem, as Rich has already noted.

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Bill September 12, 2008

see what an illusion the drill here, drill now morons are living in?

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Jeremy September 12, 2008

Just got a call from the folks, who live in Kingsport, TN. Many of the stations there are running out of — or already out of — gas.

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Thunder Pig September 12, 2008

I bogged about the Gas Panic in Jackson Couny last night, and posted a video I took of the congested gas stations and roads.

HTML doesn’t seem to work, so ‘ll post the link raw
http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/gas-panic-in-jackson-county-north.html

It was nuts. People were yelling at each other and honking their horns. I am glad I drive a diesel and have a 500 gallon tank to rely on in emergencies.

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me September 12, 2008

I purchased regular on Reems Creek Rd this morning for $3.60/gal at Exxon near Mill Co Resturant.

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Melissa September 12, 2008

Shoooooot. I hope you have not truly lost your mind like this…Or perhaps I should be worried because I refuse to let this gas "crisis" get to me and my Honda.

"Ike stirs gas buying frenzy!!!"

Yes, Ike — but he had help from the media, the government, the fools driving around in Hummers…

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Rich September 12, 2008

If everyone chilled the fuck out, we wouldn’t have a problem. Don’t drive for a couple days and we’ll get gas supplies after Ike is over.

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