Hurricane Ike's effects reached the Richmond area yesterday as residents scrambled for the cheapest gas and some stations cut off sales, saying they had run out of supplies.

Some pump prices exceeded $4 per gallon.

Retail gas prices have spiked since Thursday because Ike forced the shutdown of major oil refineries and pipelines on the Texas coast and wholesale prices for gasoline skyrocketed.

A number of local stations weren't showing any prices on their signs, while some said they were temporarily out of gas because of the hurricane. A sign at one station cited increased demand, while another mentioned market disruptions as its reason for being out.

At least two East Coast stations covered their pumps with plastic bags.

"The stations that are out of gas are out because of the impact on distributors that were affected by the storm on the Gulf Coast," said Paula Lovell, a spokeswoman for Brentwood, Tenn.-based Delek US Holdings Inc., which owns the East Coast and MAPCO Express chains. Lovell could not say how many of the company's stations had run out of gas. She said the chain was working to resupply them as soon as possible.

How long the high prices and outages will last depends on how long it takes to bring Gulf Coast oil infrastructure back in service. The extent of the damage was unclear yesterday.

"If you are going to see spotty outages, it will be the unbranded stations, and it could very well be that they don't want to pay the higher [wholesale] prices," said Windy VanCuren, a spokeswoman for the AAA Mid-Atlantic motor club.

Along West Broad Street, prices varied as much as 40 cents per gallon within just a few miles.

Derek Spinner of Henrico County pulled his Ford Expedition into a Hess station on West Broad, seeking the $3.69 gas advertised on the station's sign. He found the pumps covered with plastic. A clerk said the station ran out of regular gas about 1 p.m. and was only selling premium.

"I noticed all the prices were up to $3.75 or $3.85," Spinner said. "I saw one station at $3.99."

"I figured prices were going to go up some, but not to almost $4," Spinner said. He estimated it would take $135 to fill his tank at that price.

A Wawa station near Short Pump was packed yesterday afternoon as drivers sought regular gas for $3.69.

"That's why I'm here," said Edriene Ognelodh of Chesterfield County, as she spent $71 to fill her tank.

"It's ridiculous," she said.

Several miles farther out on West Broad, Bill Dodson filled his tank with $3.99 gas at a Shell station.

"It's horrible," said Dodson, traveling with his wife, Donna. "When we left Maryland, it was about $3.50."

Late Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency granted Virginia a waiver allowing the sale of conventional gas rather than the reformulated gas normally used to control summer ozone levels.

The waiver, which expires Sept. 26, allows the sale of conventional gas in 28 cities and counties, including Richmond, Colonial Heights and Hopewell and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico.

Ike created a wave of price spikes at gas stations across the nation yesterday as fears that the massive storm would cut off supplies prompted wide disparities in prices state by state, and even block by block.

AAA reported yesterday that gas prices rose 9 cents per gallon, on average, from Friday to yesterday in the Richmond area. Prices for regular, self-serve gas averaged $3.60 in the Richmond area as of 3 a.m. yesterday, up from $3.51 at the same time Friday.

Gas prices as high as $4.99 sparked a run on stations in Knoxville, Tenn. In the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, gas jumped from $3.55 early in the week to $3.79. Gas at Chicago-area stations was closing in on $4.50.

The average cost for a gallon of gas nationwide could return to all-time highs of $4 per gallon, reached over the summer when oil prices neared $150 a barrel.

The national average for retail gas was $3.73, up from $3.68 on Friday, according to a survey early yesterday by AAA. Prices for self-serve gas averaged $3.60 in the Richmond area, up from $3.51 on Friday. In Virginia, prices averaged $3.63, also up 9 cents per gallon, according to AAA's daily survey of gas retailers statewide.

"For the next several days, you are going to see this huge price discrepancy," said VanCuren, the AAA spokeswoman. "As wholesale prices start to even out and get toward more reasonable levels, you are going to see those [retail] prices even out."

In Roanoke, prices rose 19 cents from Thursday to Friday to an average of $3.74. In Charlottesville, prices rose to an average of $3.68, up 11 cents. Norfolk-area gas prices were up 7 cents to $3.55.
Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.