Refinery Fire Impacts Idaho Gas Prices

Boise, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KSVT-TV ) - The 17-cent price spike over the past week in gas prices is in part due to the California refinery explosion and fire in Southern California.

The February 18 explosion and fire at the ExxonMobil refinery is what caused the increase, according to AAA-Idaho. Dave Carlson said that the shutdown of the third-largest refinery in Southern California caused spot wholesale prices to spike immediately, spreading up the West Coast, then Nevada and now to Idaho. Idaho’s average price is $2.15, up 17 cents in the past week.

That’s nowhere near California’s $3.43 average mark. Already experiencing the nation’s most expensive gasoline, the West Coast states of California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington felt the first wave resulting from refinery shut down.

The average West Coast price today in the region is $2.98. Yesterday, AAA Oregon reported that state’s average fuel price had spiked 35 cents in the past week.