Amidst Florida, a multitude of fueling stations continue to lack gasoline supplies.
Hundreds of gas stations in Florida continue to lack fuel, with about half of those in Tampa remaining unaffected. Fortunately, individuals lucky enough to find operational gas stations often find themselves waiting in lengthy queues. Tempers have boiled over, resulting in numerous reported clashes over gas access.
A silver lining is that assistance is en route, as vessels loaded with fuel are expected to arrive in Tampa within a few days. Fortunately, the number of petrol stations without fuel has significantly decreased.
However, there's a catch. Experts predict it could take several more days for the situation to stabilize completely.
According to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, "I would anticipate the discomfort to significantly diminish within the next 2 to 5 days for Tampa, but there may still be intermittent outages for another 7 to 10 days as stations catch up."
The situation improves for the remainder of the state, with noticeable enhancements anticipated within a few days, and a return to normalcy expected within 5 to 10 days.
As of 1 p.m. ET on Monday, only 17.3% of Florida's gas stations lacked fuel, a decrease from 33.2% on Sunday afternoon. Despite this improvement, over 1,300 gas stations in Florida remain devoid of fuel almost a week following Hurricane Milton's landfall.
In the Tampa metropolitan area, nearly half (49.9%) of its 1,801 gas stations were sans fuel as of Monday afternoon. This represents a significant improvement, with the number dropping sharply from approximately 87.5% on Sunday afternoon and dipping below 50% for the first time since Wednesday.
Port Delays After Hurricane Milton
The challenge stems from Florida's reliance on Port Tampa Bay for fuel deliveries from Gulf Coast refineries. An astonishing 43% of Florida's gas, diesel, and jet fuel are transported through this crucial piece of infrastructure.
There are no pipelines delivering gas into the region to meet Florida's daily consumption of 20 million gallons of gas.
FEMA reports that 70 million gallons of gas and other petroleum products are bound for Tampa over the following seven days.
Although Port Tampa Bay reopened on Saturday morning, avoiding the catastrophic flooding initially feared, it's not operating at full capacity. Vessel traffic is limited to daylight and one-way travel, slowing the port's ability to receive fuel.
Another issue is that some fuel terminals nearby Port Tampa Bay and Port Manatee have yet to resume operations. This limitation reduces the amount of fuel these terminals can receive from vessels and prepare for loading onto trucks for delivery.
As a result, some intended fuel for Tampa gas stations cannot be extracted from vessels.
Frustration Mounting
Anxious Tampa-area drivers endure long lines, and this frustration has occasionally resulted in confrontations.
The Pasco Sheriff's Office reported receiving numerous calls regarding disputes and arguments at gas stations in Pasco County on Friday.
"We understand demand is enormous and frustration can be high while the fuel companies work through restocking essential supplies, but we urge you to remain patient and respectful of others," the Pasco Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
A security guard at a Tampa Bay Wawa informed Fox 13 that customers engaged in fistfights.
"One girl hit another girl with her car, they were really fighting over gas ... We had to call the police because they were being quite irrational," the security guard admitted.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that officials are working diligently to transport fuel supplies to their required locations, including assigning law enforcement escorts to fuel tanker trucks.
The state has established several public fuel sites where customers can procure 10 gallons of gas for free. However, these free gas sites have experienced occasional overcrowding.
At a site in St. Petersburg, the gasoline line extended for blocks on Sunday and required temporary police intervention, according to the Tampa Bay Times. One woman advised others to bring food and water if they planned to attend, noting that the lines move slowly.
"These lines are quite slow. Extremely slow," she said.
Simply Intolerable
The gas station outages highlight the region's vulnerability to supply interruptions and surges in demand. Demand for gas soared last week as millions of Florida residents heeded evacuation orders and others filled their vehicles' tanks with generator fuel.
Although the Gulf Coast maintains an ample reserve of fuel, local regions often do not. They typically operate under what's known as "just-in-time inventory," where only the necessary amount is received.
"It runs smoothly most of the time," stated Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service. "But when an interruption occurs, 'just-in-time' can become unbearable. That's what we've experienced the past few days."
This is particularly true in the Tampa area since they rely heavily on Port Tampa Bay for fuel deliveries.
"I think this will largely disappear," said Kloza. "By Wednesday or Thursday, you'll see gasoline everywhere, and fistfights at the pump will be a thing of the past."
The disruption in fuel supply has significantly impacted local businesses, with many establishments struggling to operate due to limited fuel availability. Moreover, the shortage has a ripple effect, affecting various sectors that rely on fuel for transportation, such as delivery services and logistics companies.
