Gas shortage in the southeast?

Last week on the way home I noticed long lines at a local gas station. I saw on the morning news that there was a gas shortage in the southeast due to Hurricane Ike shutting down oil refineries in Louisiana. Indeed, when I had gone up to NC to get an iPod connection and new speakers for our truck, there was no gas at stations in that part of the state (western NC). Since people here tend to react with a touch of panic (local grocery stores sell out of bread and milk if there's even a hint of a snow flurry), I thought I'd participate in the panic and grab our vehicles and fill them up while the gas stations were still open. Three gas stations up the road had actually closed down so maybe there was reason for concern after all. The pic was taken while on my bike. The CAT (Clemson Area Transit) buses were causing a bit of a problem in getting into the station. Right after taking that shot I managed to cross the road and find an open pump. Actually I tried two: both displayed a message that the pump wasn't working and to "replace pump". WTF? So I went inside and happened upon the owner. He eventually got the pump to work, filled up my bike, and explained that he had just received a tanker shipment of gas and that the refineries were coming back on line in LA and that they would be delivering at 300% normal capacity. I guess he knew what he was talking about since (luckily) this week I've not seen any more long lines for gas and no more closed gas stations. I guess we're back to normal and gas prices seem to have come down to around $3.60 or so, so perhaps the panic was an overreaction. Still, I doubt the price will ever drop to the 97¢ price I still remember from several years ago.