Sudden spike in SoCal gas prices not a result of Harvey

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- We can't blame Hurricane Harvey for the sudden spike in Southern California gas prices.

The average price for regular unleaded in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas is $3.16. That's up 13 cents since last week.

The spike in prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California, was caused by us -- the motoring public.

"We did see increases as a result of people filling up their tanks and heading out for the long holiday weekend. Historically, this is the time where we start to see the prices lower now that we've gone past the big summer road trip week," said Doug Shupe of AAA.

Gordon Jones, who works in the oil industry, said there's another reason why we're seeing gas prices go up right now.

"They talk about the impact of Houston, but the other thing people need to realize is this time of year prices go up, but this time of year the refineries go down so they can prepare for winter blend," said Jones.

Many motorists said they noticed the steep increase at the pump, but most still said they'd rather drive than fly to their destinations.

"I think it's just better to drive sometimes instead of just flying. Since we're just heading down to this area, it's more convenient I guess than waiting in line at the airport," said traveler Paul Caampued of Hayward.

Hurricane Harvey affected the prices and supplies for the Gulf Coast and East Coast regions of the country.

There was plenty of gas. The problem was getting the gas to the stations since many of the roads were underwater because of the storm.

Here in Southern California, we don't get our gas from the Texas Gulf Coast.

"We will start to see in the weeks following Labor Day that prices start to move lower because there's downward pressure on the prices with less demand for fuel," said AAA's Shupe.