California gas prices soar after one of Bay Area's few refineries catches fire
Briefly

Gas prices in the Bay Area have surged following a fire at the Valero refinery, pushing the state average to $4.826 per gallon. Most counties are now surpassing $5 per gallon, with Sonoma County experiencing the highest rates. Experts predict ongoing price increases of 5 to 20 cents over the next couple of weeks due to refinery outages and limited capacity from other facilities, such as the Martinez refinery recovering from a previous explosion. This precarious situation underscores the vulnerability of California's gas market and its impact on consumers.
Gas prices in the Bay Area have spiked after a fire at the Valero refinery, with some regions exceeding $5 per gallon, driven by refinery outages.
Patrick De Haan, from GasBuddy, noted the Bay Area might face a steeper price hike, anticipated to rise an additional 5 to 20 cents in the coming weeks.
Denton Cinquegrana mentioned that the Martinez refinery, after a significant explosion earlier, is not operating at full capacity, which will impact summer fuel supply.
The limited number of refineries in California exacerbates price increases whenever any facility is offline, leading to higher costs at the pump.
Read at SFGATE
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