Rural Gas Stations Often Have Gas When City Stations Don’t

By Barclay Bishop
WJBF News Channel 6 reporter
Published: September 28, 2008

McDuffie County, GA—Gas wars are causing traffic headaches...it’s everywhere you turn, in Augusta.

Chevy Fountain, Warrenton, GA: “Unbelievable, I don’t know what to think of it.”

Valerie McIntosh, Thomson, GA: “I hope it don’t come to that, here. I really do.”

It may not...step out to surrounding counties, and you may be home free.

Valerie McIntosh, Thomson, GA: “We’ve had gas. I mean, the prices fluctuate, they go up and down, but we’ve had gas.”

Velvet Lazenby, Assistant Manager, Sprint gas station, Thomson, GA: “They said folks in Augusta are coming to Thomson to get gas.”

Velvet Lazenby is an assistant manager at a Sprint gas station on Thomson’s Main Street. She says they’ve only run out, once, and were full just hours later. Based on the increase in traffic, it sounds like word is spreading that places like Thomson are full, at the pumps.

Velvet Lazenby: “It’s gotten worse, because like Circle K and them, they don’t know when they going to get gas. And, you know, when you run out, you don’t know when you’re going to get none.”

After McDuffie County, we headed a little farther west, towards Warren County...a near ghost town, compared to what we’ve seen.

Barclay Bishop, reporting: “Here’s something you don’t see, in Augusta...an empty gas lane. Not because this tank’s run out of gas, but because people in Warrenton aren’t scrambling to get gas, since there’s no shortage.”

No problems at the pump were in Warrenton, those folks were in and out, but for those who weren’t…

Dewayne Fuller, Warrenton, GA: “Good luck. I mean...that’s the first word that comes out of my mouth...good luck.”

A few of those gas stations did run out of gas, but not for long. Gas station owners we talked to say they haven’t seen anything like the lines we’ve seen in Augusta.

We’d like you to let us know where you’ve found gas, or not. Just register on our website (it’s easy...and free), then click here and leave your comments, and let us know where you got gas, and even let us know what stations are out of gas.