{"id":408803,"date":"2026-07-23T01:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/408803\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T01:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:28:11","slug":"why-some-california-drivers-are-crossing-into-arizona-to-fill-up-their-gas-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/408803\/","title":{"rendered":"Why some California drivers are crossing into Arizona to fill up their gas tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) \u2014 Drivers in the Southwest and across the United States are feeling another jolt at the pump as gas prices climb again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Border communities in western Arizona are seeing a familiar trend: \u201cgas tourists\u201d crossing into Arizona from California for cheaper fill-ups.<\/p>\n

Along the Arizona-California line near Yuma, the steady back-and-forth traffic now includes motorists who make the short drive over the bridge specifically to buy gasoline on the Arizona side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it \u2026 it\u2019s crazy,\u201d one driver said. <\/p>\n

Another said rising prices are forcing them to cut back: \u201cI try to drive less every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

A widening border gap<\/p>\n

Prices aren\u2019t rising evenly everywhere, and nowhere is that more obvious than at the Arizona-California border.<\/p>\n

AAA data shows Arizona\u2019s statewide average was about $4.05 per gallon last week. It has since climbed to about $4.30, a 25-cent increase.<\/p>\n

In California, the statewide average was about $5.38 last week and is now about $5.54, up roughly 13 cents.<\/p>\n

In Yuma, resident Blake Welch said he\u2019s noticing the increase at home, but the prices across the border can be even tougher to stomach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was $62 or $65 to fill up my tank; I only have an 11-gallon tank, so it\u2019s kind of crazy,\u201d Welch said. \u201cDown here is a little bit better. I mean it\u2019s still pretty bad \u2026 it\u2019s 40 bucks for an 11-gallon tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global tensions, local impact<\/p>\n

The latest run-up comes as renewed conflict in the Middle East<\/a> raises concerns about global oil supplies \u2014 a half a world away, but with real impacts for consumers in the Southwest.<\/p>\n

On the California side of the border, Michael Peek of Chula Vista said Arizona prices are noticeably more affordable, and he\u2019s hoping geopolitical uncertainty eases.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the war in Iran gets resolved, the Strait of Hormuz get opened up, and gas prices go back to normal,\u201d Peek said. \u201cI think that is what everyone hopes for.\u201d<\/p>\n

With prices staying high, some drivers say they\u2019re changing how often they get behind the wheel, driving less, combining errands or searching for station-to-station deals to save a few cents.<\/p>\n

For gas station owners along the state border, the price difference can shift business quickly. In communities like Yuma, Arizona\u2019s lower prices are drawing customers from across state lines.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here<\/a> with a brief description.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KTVK\/KPHO. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) \u2014 Drivers in the Southwest and across the United States are feeling another jolt at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[163878,2123,7,148,9,8,103623,147,163881,163880,93309,163879,14646],"class_list":["post-408803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-arizona-gas-prices","tag-azfamily","tag-california","tag-california-gas-prices","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-fuel-prices","tag-gas-prices","tag-gas-tourist","tag-iran-and-gas","tag-iran-war","tag-oil-cost","tag-phoenix-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}