Days after Hurricane Milton slammed Florida's west coast, residents are still having a hard time finding gas.
Autumn Boyd says she's been waiting two hours at a 7-Eleven station in Temple Terrace to fill up the tank on her 3-gallon motorcycle.
"I had to use PTO (paid time off) in order to be here,” Boyd said. “And I've just been using my vacation hours to sit in line."
She needs to make sure her bike is fueled for the long drive between Tampa and Clearwater. She says anyone else in a motorcycle should know a couple tips before getting in line.
“Make sure that you got water with you, because it's going to be hot sitting out here, and keep your bike off in neutral so you can just push it,” Boyd said.
Andrew Thomas' wait was quite a bit longer. He said finally getting to the pump after five hours will be a huge relief.
"It's going to be like riding on a roller coaster,” Thomas said. “You waited in line for all that time, for five minutes of good joy. And halfway during the week, you're going to be like, ‘damn, I gotta do this all again.' "
Anita Doering said she was waiting over three hours to refuel her SUV.
"Let's say it's been the worst experience of my life,” Doering said. “If I maintain my sanity after I get gas, it'll be a miracle. The advice I give — don't drink anything.”
A few cars behind, Veronica Sealy said she also had been waiting close to three hours. And in that time, she's seen how chaotic things can get.
"I've seen people butting in, people cussing people out, people saying, ‘everybody need gas,’” Sealy said. “All of us need gas. We just have to be a little patient."
Both said they were returning to homes that are still without power.
Ramon Martinez said he had been waiting around 2½ hours and was nearly next up to fill up. He decided to go inside to get a snack at the gas station while he waits. For him, getting gas is solving just one of his issues.
“I have not had coffee because I don't have electricity,” Martinez said. "And my problem is that when I lose electricity, I lose water because I have a well. No electricity, no water.”
Despite the issues, Martinez says he feels like he got out of the storm well, considering other people’s situations.
“I got branches in my pool, and my yard is like a war-zone, but my house, thank God, nothing [happened to it],” Martinez said. “So, you know, I'm blessed. I consider myself blessed, and my family, because none of my children — two of them live in Orlando — they did well. And my son in Riverview, he did well too.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday announced the state has opened three fuel depots in the region to help meet the demand, and plans to open more. Residents can get up to 10 gallons of free gas.
