Approaching $5 Gasoline In Southern California -- July 10, 2015

In today's Orange County Register (southern California): Orange County wakes up to shock of $4.35 and climbing: Gas prices soar at independent stations.

Orange County motorists blinked Friday and saw gas prices top $4 a gallon at some of their neighborhood gas stations.

At OC Gas on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana, prices shot up to $4.35 from $3.27 on Wednesday. 

So,what's the story? The article continues:

Low inventory across the West Coast, a lack of imported gas for California and rising wholesale prices all have contributed to sporadic price hikes around the county.

“We are in a high-driving, high-consumption time of the year,” said Tupper Hull, the vice president of strategic communications for the Western States Petroleum Association. “I don’t know what occurred this week to change the wholesale prices. I don’t have an answer for that.”

GasBuddy, a website that collects gas price reports from its app users, saw wild price changes all day Friday across Orange County. A Dana Point Chevron took the top spot at $4.61 for a gallon of regular, followed by $4.59 a gallon at a 76 station in Seal Beach. Both stations had reported prices closer to $3.45 in recent days.

Will Governor Brown respond?

GasBuddy on Thursday petitioned Gov. Jerry Brown to temporarily waive California’s fuel requirements because of the shortage. A reprieve would mean the state could import gas from other states with different blends to hold off even higher price hikes.