Is Knoxville running out of gas?

There is a something of a gas panic happening in the Knoxville area at the moment, fueled (no pun intended) by Gustav-driven shortages and Ike-driven fears of further shortages. And of course, prices are skyrocketing in response to the low supply and high demand. Or, you know, "price gouging," if you prefer conspiracy theories to basic economic realities.

The "run on gas" was partly triggered, I think, by this article in today's News-Sentinel, speaking ominously of "a petroleum shortage spreading throughout the Southeast" that is now "hit[ting] local gas stations, groceries and convenience stores":

Refinery outages along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Gustav have created severe shortages, causing retailers like Weigel's to scramble to keep their pumps flowing. And Hurricane Ike is bearing down on Texas, drawing a bead on North America's petroleum manufacturing capital of Houston and portending a worst-case scenario for dealers and consumers.

"Knoxville has been out of gas since Monday. We've been buying gas from Atlanta, North Carolina, Kentucky, anywhere we can get it," said Bill Weigel, head of the Weigel's chain of convenience stores in Knox, Blount, Sevier, Loudon, Anderson and Monroe counties.

Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake! AAA is urging people not to panic, but such pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears.

Luckily and coincidentally, I filled up my tank yesterday morning -- not because of any panic, but simply because my car needed gas. There were no lines or anything. But now, 24 hours later, it's a different story. Apparently Becky's Stroller Strides mommy buddies were buzzing this morning about gas shortages, and urging those who hadn't done so to fill up their tanks ASAP. Becky followed this advice, and called me to report that the line at the gas station was 4 or 5 cars deep.

Then, a few minutes ago, a co-worker popped by to tell me, "you probably already know this, but you need to get gas." She added that the price is already up to "$5.15 in Farragut." This co-worker was headed out the door on her lunch break to fill up her car.

As Fark would say, EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!!

P.S. Caveat: I have no idea how serious the reported shortage really is, beyond what I've read about it (which isn't much). And I'm only in a position to gently poke fun at panic buyers because I filled up my previously-almost-empty tank yesterday. If I hadn't, I'd probably be buying gas on my lunch break too. :)