Gas prices are crazy expensive in California already, and it's not even the summer yet. The statewide average has already eclipsed $4 per gallon, and some places hit passed that mark weeks ago.
But here's something: A viral Facebook image claims folks are paying $9.40 per gallon for gas somewhere in California. Is that true?
Let's VERIFY.
Robert McEvilly on Facebook: "Remember, California voters who voted NO on proposition 6, you also gave the State of California legislature the ability to raise the taxes on gasoline - anytime they want, and by as much as they want!! The $9.40/Gal was in Death Valley, CA - TODAY."
That post was shared thousands of times.
SOURCES: We wanted verify his claims, so we called up Dan Mitchell, the guy who took the photo with the alleged $9.40 per gallon prices.
"Initially when I saw it I was pretty angry about it," Mitchell said about the now viral photo.
It says copyright Dan Mitchell at the bottom of the picture. That's actually how we tracked the photo to his website. Mitchell tell us the image was part of an April Fool's joke.
"It was posted on April 1, 2011 on my website as a joke," Mitchell explained. "And you know I managed to fool a few people, but most people caught on pretty quickly."
Dan says he actually made up the $9 dollar price. He says the actual price was nowhere near that in 2011 when the photo was really taken. And that's true. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the state's average gas prices were $4.21 per gallon in April 2011.
Dan says he took this photo at the Furnace Creek Gas Station in Death Valley. A quick search of google shows the price is around $5 dollars or so today.
So, with that, we can VERIFY Robert's claims about $9 a gallon for gas in Death Valley is FALSE.
We should add, though, that while gas prices in California are expensive, state taxes are not the only reason.
- Refinery problems plaguing the state and West Coast as gas supply remains tight due to the change-over to summer gasoline
- Several refineries being in the midst of planned maintenance, which further tightens supply
- Ethanol prices surging due to flooding in the Midwest
- Unexpected outages at refineries, which is considered to be the largest factor
Also, while consumers should be prepared for the increase, GasBuddy is warning motorists to restrain themselves from filling their tanks to avoid making the supply issue worse.
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