NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As more and more service stations tell their customers that they are all out of gas, some of those customers have become increasingly angry, and in some cases, have threatened to kill the store's manager, Channel Four's Anne Marshall reported.

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In Portland, Tenn., which is about 800 miles away from Hurricane Ike, all but one gas station on Saturday said it is out of gasoline.

It is the same situation with some of the gas stations in Nashville.

Gas distributors said the reason for the lack of gasoline is two pipelines that serve Tennessee were shut down, as are about two dozens refineries on the Gulf Coast.

AAA said that while some stations may actually be out of gas, some may be trying to hang on to what they have.

Unleaded fuel was being sold at close to $5 per gallon on Saturday, and some distributors said they would rather not buy the expensive stuff, opting to conserve what they have in case things don't get better.

On Thursday night, Steve Heath, of Winchester's Heath Oil, said he bought the expensive fuel rather than running out completely, and he said he had to raise his gas prices to $5.29 as a result.

Heath said he received numerous threatening phone calls, so he said he decided to stop selling when his supply runs out until the prices drop.

"Some people understand -- some people want to jump on us without attempting to understand," Heath said.

Portland resident Jon Heller said he blames a lack of competition in the oil industry for the current price of gas.

"They got a monopoly -- a monopoly allows them to control prices," Heller said. "It's ridiculous, but (I) got to go to work, so what can you do"?"

Heath said that he filed a gouging complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs after he had to pay $5 per gallon from a supplier.

In Arkansas, AAA said that one gas station is currently charging about $8 per gallon.