Gas Shortages, Power Outages Face Milton Evacuees Returning To FL

FLORIDA — As Hurricane Milton evacuees return to Florida days after the storm made landfall in the Sarasota area Wednesday night, many areas remain without power and gas is in short supply.

On the heels of Hurricane Helene, which hit less than two weeks earlier, Category 3 Milton ravaged the Tampa Bay area and other central Florida communities, left at least 3.4 million customers powerless and killed at least 23 people, AccuWeather said.

“Even up here in Hernando County, some stations have no gas at all. The ones that do have lines a half mile long,” Dana McCarron told Patch. “(I) saw someone literally pushing their car in the gas line because they ran out.”

Florida saw one of its largest evacuations in recent decades ahead of Milton, according to The Washington Post. Data shows that many left coastal communities before evacuation orders were issued. By the time the hurricane hit, only about 1 in 10 people remained at home in places like St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island, which were both recently devastated by Helen.

President Joe Biden surveyed some of the hardest-hit communities in Tampa and St. Pete Beach on Sunday. During his visit, he announced more than $600 million in energy projects for hurricane-affected areas.

• Also Read: Biden Announces $600M For Areas Hit By Hurricanes While In FL After Milton

The funding includes $94 million for two projects in Florida: $47 million for Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47 million for Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.

More than 404,000 remain in the dark Monday morning with most of the outages in Hillsborough (about 166,000 customers) and Pinellas (about 96,000 customers) powerless, according to PowerOutage.us.

Thousands of linemen, many traveling from other states, have been working around the clock to restore power to communities in Milton’s aftermath.

"We have poles down, so we're trying to isolate those so we can bring the customers that can get power, hot," Duke Energy lineman Matthew Richardson told Fox 13. "It's very tiring, we've been working nonstop between both hurricanes, it's been pretty rough."

Related:

• Baby Born At FL Storm Shelter During Hurricane Milton: Officials
• Where To Find Help In Tampa Bay After Hurricane Milton
• Tom Brady Donates $100K In Milton's Aftermath
• 'Nightmare Scenario': Coast Guard Rescues Man Clinging To Cooler

Fuel has been hard to come by since the storm hit. Over the weekend, drivers looking to fill their tanks found themselves waiting in long lines that wrapped around blocks sometimes for several hours. Many stations even had a police presence

Tiffany Pepsin in Sarasota told Patch Saturday morning that her husband waited an hour in line at one gas station.

“When he got up to his turn, they ran out,” she said.

This left them with barely enough gas to try to find another filling station.

But the gas supply chain is slowly recovering, AAA said.

“Surging demand and power outages contributed to temporary gasoline outages across Central Florida and along evacuation routes. However, state officials say conditions are improving,” according to the organization. “Florida's ports and all but two gasoline terminals are back open for tanker trucks to fill up and make round-the-clock deliveries.”

As of Sunday night, 20 percent of gas stations in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties still didn’t have gas, state officials told AAA. Some other stations have fuel, but don’t have any power to operate the pumps.

About 85 percent of Florida’s gas stations should have fuel by Monday night, with supplies being back to normal by Wednesday morning, the organization said.

Gas prices also remain steady, according to AAA. Sunday’s state average was $3.10 per gallon — the same price as last week, 5 cents less than last month and 27 cents less than last year.

To help alleviate the stress at the fuel pumps, the Florida Department of Emergency Management will open public gas filling stations in counties affected by Milton. The fuel is for cars only and 10 gallons is allowed per car.

The following sites are open every day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., unless noted otherwise:

• Bradenton Motorsports Park, 2100 E. State Road 64, Bradenton (open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Central Lot - Parking Lot, 800 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg
• Charlotte Sports Park, 2300 El Jobean, Port Charlotte
• East Bay Raceway, 6311 Burts Road, Tampa
• Gulf View Mall, 9409 U.S. 19, Port Richey (open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Largo Mary Grizzle State Office, 11351 Ulmerton Road, Largo (open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Plant City Stadium, 1810 S. Park Road, Plant City
• South Florida State College - Desoto Center, 22 51 NE Turner Ave., Arcadia (open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
• St. Petersburg College, 600 E. Klosterman Road, Tarpon Springs
• Suncoast Technical College, 4445 Career Lane, North Port
• Tropicana Rail Yard, 1706 9th Street E., Bradenton
• Wiregrass Mall, 28211 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel (open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

It hasn’t been noted when these sites might shut down.