Motorists in Yuma urged to stay calm

AAA warned motorists in Yuma and around the state not to overreact by jamming gas stations for fuel in the event prices soar due to Tuesday's events.

Rumors began circulating Tuesday afternoon gas prices in Arizona were skyrocketing, but AAA Arizona could not confirm whether gas prices in some parts of Arizona rose to $1.90 per gallon.

The average in Yuma was $1.65 as of Tuesday and had not changed by the evening.

“Every station in Arizona has plenty of gas,” AAA spokeswoman Laura Rightenburg said. “There's no shortage of gas in this state.”

Elsewhere around the nation, anxious consumers in various parts of the country lined up for an hour or more to fuel up on gasoline costing as much as $5 a gallon amid fears supplies would be disrupted following the terrorist attacks.

As gasoline wholesalers and retailers quickly raised prices, the nation's largest oil companies immediately tried to allay consumers' worries by freezing their prices and pledging to keep distribution steady.

Panic caused by rumors of a pending gasoline shortage sent prices skyrocketing in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Michigan and other states.

In California, gasoline wholesalers raised prices by as much as 20 cents a gallon on supply fears, although traders said there was no evidence of a shortage.

A rise in gas prices is the result of station owners who are overreacting to the attack, now believed linked to terrorists in the oil-rich Middle East, she said.

AAA won't know until Thursday the effects this has had on the gas industry, Rightenburg said.