Florida tries to curb fears of gas shortages
Posted September 7, 2004
Bill Penney and Dover Adams both went looking for gas Monday.
Their trips to the pump reflected the luck and anxiety of countless motorists across Central Florida in the wake of Hurricane Frances as their gauges dropped toward E. And the situation may get only worse in coming days as the region strains to get moving again.
Gas stations on hundreds of corners stayed closed Labor Day, either from lack of power or empty tanks. But a block or two away, other stations still offered fuel with minimal waits.
"First place I saw -- boom," said Penney of Longwood. "Not bad at all."
The Shell station where Penney filled his sport utility vehicle was one of nine stations with gas, compared with 21 with bagged pumps, when a reporter checked supplies Monday in Orlando on Semoran Boulevard and Orange Avenue.
Adams wasn't so lucky when he left his Oak Ridge home in Orlando seeking tarps for a leaking roof, but needing gas for his search.
"We probably went to seven or eight stations before we found this one," Adams said outside Bada-Bing New York Pizza and Deli on South Orange Avenue. "It took us an hour."
To make filling up less of a hunting trip, Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday asked Florida Highway Patrol troopers to escort fuel trucks to speed up their deliveries in the Orlando area. And cruise ships were told to stay at sea while Florida ports give priority docking to petroleum tankers.
Demand is expected to increase for days as tens of thousands of Floridians drive home after fleeing Frances to safety in Georgia and the Carolinas. And those who stayed will be seeking gas to drive to work this week.
"We're saying when you get to half a tank, your eyes need to be open," said FHP spokeswoman Trooper Kim Miller.
In Volusia County, more than a dozen travelers were parked at a closed Hess gas station off Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach at noon. The station had gas, but no electricity to pump it.
Denise Leechong, 53, homeward bound to Brooklyn, N.Y., had been waiting with her husband and son for more than five hours at pump No. 8.
She had no choice. She had an eighth of a tank of gas left.
"We've been out walking around. We met a couple people," Leechong said. "We don't have any food. I'm just thinking about a decent steak."
At pump No. 13, Jean Gay, 50, an electronics technician vacationing from Waterbury, Conn., said, "It's our worst nightmare."
Shortly after 1 p.m., southbound traffic on I-95 below the Georgia border had already slowed to 30 mph in Duval County. And lines had formed at gas stations along Florida's Turnpike.
"If you're driving back into Florida, stop and get gas before you have to," urged state Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen Castille.
Central Florida officials made sure Monday that there were ample supplies of fuel for police and emergency vehicles.
Among those running out of gas were the TV trucks at WESH-Channel 2 in Orlando.
Orange County filled the trucks, to be billed later, from the county's reserves "because of the public-safety announcements they were making," said county director of Administrative Services Warren Geltch.
Orange County officials recommended that residents conserve fuel. Homeowners using gasoline generators to supply electricity were advised to run the equipment four hours on and four hours off.
In Lake County, when the Citgo gas station on U.S. Highway 441 in Leesburg opened about 11 a.m., people streamed in looking for hot coffee, cold snacks or cigarettes.
Customers traded storm stories as they waited in line to pay for gas -- the station took only cash Monday because its credit-card machines were down.
Laurel Willett drove 18 miles from Summerfield in neighboring Marion County.
She gassed up her car even though she had half a tank, saying she didn't know when she would find gas again.
More than 125 million gallons of fuel will be delivered to Florida by midweek as tankers enter the reopened ports. From Sunday to Monday, more than 6.5 million gallons of fuel was delivered to trucks at Port Everglades, according to the State Emergency Response Team.
On an average day, Floridians use 26.5 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel.
Just miles from millions of gallons of gasoline at a major terminal in Taft, south of Orlando, Chevron clerk Ricky Singh was unsure how many more cars could be filled.
After opening at 10 a.m., more than 100 motorists had filled up in three hours.
"We're going to be out pretty soon, half an hour to an hour at the most, if we don't get a delivery," Singh said.
The task of getting the gas out fell to Jeremy Kemp, fuel depot manager for Florida Rock & Tank Lines. He was frantic.
"I don't have time to talk," he said. "You'll have to call back later."
Hours later, Kemp was still too harried to talk long.
"It's going to be rough for the next couple of weeks," he said. "We're just starting to handle this bear."
. Mummy had about 5 minute waits at most. That ride RULES! 
