SHOREWOOD, Wis. — TMJ4 spoke with drivers who noticed the sudden price increase while filling up their tanks. Louis Boscarino and David Zastrow were among those caught off guard by the higher costs.
Watch: Wisconsin drivers notice gas prices spike after Indiana refinery fire
"I don't have much right now and I just had to get the car fixed, so it's kind of killing my wallet. Pretty much," Zastrow said.
Boscarino said he was expecting to pay around $2.69 per gallon when he arrived at his usual gas station.
"When I came in today, I was expecting the gas to be at about $2.69 or around there. In fact, I came specifically to this gas station. It didn't occur to me till I went in there and she [cashier] says, ‘yeah, it's up around 30 cents.’ Like, wow, yeah, that's a jump," Boscarino said.
Viewers Nancy and Ryan emailed TMJ4 to investigate the price hike. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, explained the supply disruption.
The fire hit a major refinery in Whiting, Indiana that serves much of the Midwest, significantly impacting fuel availability.
"That facility has the capacity to churn out over 18 million gallons of fuels every single day," De Haan said.
De Haan expects Wisconsin gas prices to hover closer to $3 per gallon for the next couple of days, with stations potentially able to lower prices by next week. He said despite the current spike, Wisconsin's average cost per gallon remains slightly lower this year compared to last year.
"Once this refinery fire is no longer an issue, I do expect that gas prices should again return to a nice drop compared to last year," De Haan said.
While drivers are concerned about the immediate financial impact, many remain hopeful the increase won't last long.
"I just hope that that's just a fluke, you know, and that it continues to go down," Boscarino said.
"I would love gas prices to go back down to about $2 that I'd be a lot happier," Zastrow said.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
