As of Friday, it was difficult to find a gas station in Durango charging less than $3.40 per gallon – a noticeable increase from about $2.80 in recent weeks.
A Circle K on Main Avenue, among the most expensive in town, was charging $3.89 for unleaded gas and $4.99 for diesel.
Durango is one of many cities nationwide experiencing rising gas prices as war with Iran disrupts oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil shipping route.
The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Nikki Sellers and Heather Gibson, employees at the Marathon gas station across from the La Plata County Fairgrounds, said they have seen more customers stockpiling fuel.
“It’s probably gone from (someone filling a gas can) once a week to four times a week,” Sellers said. “It’s increased a lot, and we get people more often asking if we have gas cans we can let them use.”
Sellers said the price per gallon at the Marathon increased by about $1 in the past week, going from $2.60 last week to $3.59 Friday.
She said she worries about the impact on retirees, people with disabilities and others who may not be able to afford rising prices.
Gas isn’t the only product affected by rising costs, the two employees said. Prices for items such as drinks, tobacco and food have also increased at the Marathon – and customers have sometimes lashed out, Gibson and Sellers said.
“We get yelled at constantly because our gas prices keep going up,” Gibson said. “(Customers will) come through here and be like, ‘Why are you guys $1 more than you were last week?’ ... We know why it’s going up, but we can’t say anything.”
“We’re like, ‘It’s America – what do you think?’” Sellers added.
The two said customers frequently ask whether prices will come down soon, and it’s difficult to know what to say.
“How are we even supposed to respond?” Sellers said. “... It’s just going to keep going up.”
Several residents pumping gas Friday in Durango said they haven’t felt significantly affected by the rising prices and are optimistic costs will stabilize soon.
One man said he plans to ride his bike to work more often to offset the increase.
Hatch Miller, 17, an Animas High School student, said he can only work during the summer. Filling his truck has gone from $40 to about $60, he said.
Melanie, who declined to give her last name, pumped gas into her sedan Friday at the Main Avenue Circle K. While the price increase is inconvenient, she said she has become desensitized to large-scale world events and related price fluctuations.
“Wars are always going to happen, our prices are going to go up and down, and I know it affects us in our day-to-day life, and it’s important that we pay attention to it, but I try to know it’s just a season, right?” she said. “We’ll get through this. Our prices will go back down eventually, and some way, somehow, we’ll get some peace there (in Iran) and it’ll be all right.”
Prices will likely continue to increase and remain high the longer the war continues, she said.
“It’s got to be expected,” she said. “... (But) there’s a point where it’s enough. We have to live our lives. Be aware, be conscious. But you can’t let it consume you.”
epond@durangoherald.com
