Fuel Fuel Everywhere and Not A Drop To Burn

12:30 AM: Been sitting in my tiny VW for the last 4 hours now. Still no sign of gas ahead. This line seems to be stretching for miles. I don’t think I have much gas left. I hope I don’t have to push, thats really going to make this a bad night. 

In the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy, the devastation totals have continued to grow in the past week. The storm itself has left millions of people homeless and even further millions in the dark. As temperatures dipped in the following days and power is slowly being restored a new problem has emerged. With the bridges and tunnels barely functional and docks in New York City all but washed away, getting essential goods into and out of New York is proving quite troublesome. The most troubling of which has been fuel. If you live in the Tristate Area, you have most like experienced lines at gas stations akin to ration lines in a mid-80’s Russian winter. As the fear of no fuel continues to grow and the full tanks around the city begin running dry, panic over gas has even lead to violent crimes, small riots and overall irrational behavior.

1:40 AM: To conserve fuel, I have the engine off, which means no heat. This is a problem as it is now almost 30 degrees. Thank god for this blanket. Still no real sign of fuel, but I wait hoping to have my patience rewarded with a full tank. I think they said they would get more gas around 3. That’s not too bad, it was longer yesterday. How the hell did we get to this situation in the first place?

The morning after the storm was something surreal here in New York City and the surrounding areas. Those few lucky enough to still have power, a roof and functioning communications spent the day watching endless loops of still burning houses, flooded infrastructure and homes and the over all calamitous outcome of this “Frankenstorm”. Combined with the lunar high tide on the same night as the storm, the flooding and winds destroyed many things, but prevalently electricity. As of writing this article a large number of homes in New York City, Long Island and Jersey are still in the dark. This combined with the chaos and confusion following the storm left a majority of offices and stores closed in the immediate days following the event. As power slowly returned and people thought it safe to leave their homes, a new problem begins to develop.

1:53 AM: Even if I get more gas, this isn’t going to get much better. I still have to go home to a dark house, safe the few lights and the fridge running off of the generator. Maybe while I have been waiting here, the power has been restored to the house. I shouldn’t get my hopes up. Rumors have us waiting until early next week. Never thought I would get in this situation here in New York. This seems like something that always happens else where. Not here in New York City. Not at home. At least they have power and heat at the office on Monday. I can charge my phone, check my email and try and reach out to everyone else and see how they are doing as well. Hope at least the trains are running better. Otherwise I have a whole other problem.

The lack of power in has left a large portion of gas stations unable to pump their gas out of the tanks. This meant that the 22 million people living in the storm effected New York Metro Area are in need of gas and there were few stations to fill them up. By the second day, the fuel lines started growing in front of stations and the social media networks had been turned into a basic message board for all types of goods and services. As offices and stores around the city slowly return to normal functionality, people increasingly need to leave their homes. With a large amount of metro transit still partially or completely dysfunctional, people need their cars. To pile on to this problem, as many homes were still in the dark, efforts to bring light and heat were being powered in most placed by generators. This meant that these people would need extra fuel for their power source. Now you have two lines, ones with cars and another with people holding “Jerry” cans.

2:15 AM: I should make sure I have the Jerry can in the trunk. I think we will need a few more gallons to keep generator running. Without that the food is going bad as well. I wonder how much longer. I heard someone a couple cars up talking about maybe getting a delivery around 7 AM. Even if they do, there are almost 60 cars ahead of me. I hope they get enough. If they run out I surely will get some on the next delivery. That can’t be too long, right ? maybe by 2 pm. Maybe I’ll call my sister. Tell her to take a few hours will I head home and warm up a bit. Maybe catch some shut eye.

As the pumps that were working were inundated with lines that stretched down the block in both directions, they usually ran out of the gas they had pretty quickly. A majority of the gas stations had sold out of their pre storm supply before the end of the first post storm day. Now began a waiting game for station owners and a gamble for drivers. Stations around the city were awaiting their next shipment, but with damages to infrastructure and transit, many of these deliveries were delayed or all together cancelled. The stations that were getting gas have been sporadic at best. The first couple days of this was marked by trucks arriving at stations and lines forming instantaneously. Thanks to cell phones and social media, news of any stations that had a few gallons would spread like wildfire. People were leaving homes, work and even other gas lines and rushing to stations at all hour of the day and night. This of course lead to small altercations and fender benders. Any time a unruly impromptu line forms in a major city for a limited resource, tempers always run high and patience low.

2:19 AM: Who is knocking on my window ? Oh, its the nice lady from a couple cars up. She just needs a few gallons for her generator. With the schools closed, her kids are home and getting stir crazy. I guess I understand that feeling. She got here at 7 pm right after she got home from work. Looks like she grabbed a  few coffees for a couple of us. That was nice of her. At least I have the fellow line dwellers to share this situation with. Surprisingly most people have kept their cool and manners in all this. I think we are all going into her car so we only have to run the heat in one car. That would be nice.

As these lines were being reported on, even people with gas were getting scared. Many people who didn’t drive that much were rushing to the pumps to top off what they could. This only further exacerbated the situation. The ever evolving nature of New York City and its residents quickly led to a new plan. People knew which stations had power and were getting deliveries, even if sporadic. The decisions was made by many drivers, and workers who jobs depended on gasoline, to simply always be on the line. Cars were left on lines at stations that didn’t have a drop. People would take shifts camping in these cars. This way when the gas arrived, they would simply begin to move the vehicle. This took the wait time in New York City from a couple of hours to a couple of days. You even saw small get-togethers with other drivers also stuck on this seemingly endless line. This was without even the guarantee of receiving the gas they were so patiently waiting for.

2:32 AM: Someone should get the cop a coffee or, better yet, a beer. That poor guy has been standing here since 8 pm last night and isn’t leaving till 9 am. That is almost as long as I will have been waiting for gas. At least I get to stay in my car. He has been standing out in the cold this whole time. I truly feel bad for him. He was telling me earlier that between the destruction in all the shore side towns and the gas situation the cops are spread super thin. They are all doing 13 hour shifts. I’m not even sure they are getting more than one day off. This is really getting too much. I heard on the radio that the Army is trucking in gas. I wonder if that is real ?

All this has occurred in a matter of days since the storm hit. The NYPD has taken to 13 hour shifts guarding functioning gas stations as a man was help up at gunpoint for 3 gallons of fuel. The deteriorating situation in New York City does not seem to have much of an end in site. As the US Army and the National Guard continue to truck in fuel to aid in the recovery effort, many gas stations still do not have power or a drop of gas to sell. As power is being restored in many neighborhoods, gas pumps are coming back online as well. This is slowly alleviating the problem, but lines still wrap around many city blocks. With many of the incoming and outgoing tunnels, bridges and docks are still in shambles, getting a reasonable amount of fuel into New York seems further away than many are willing to admit.

3:26 AM: They got gas !!! Look like two trucks. That should be about 3000 gallons. I think I may actually get out of here before 5:30 !! Go figure, before all this I had no idea how much fuel was in a full truck. The cop is calling back up to help control the huge line and direct traffic. This is a little crazy. At least I am moving. The gas light is on in my car but I think if I move slowly I should be able to keep it on and moving up to the pump. This is great !! There are at least another 50-70 cars behind me. I hope they get gas too. 

While recommendations are being made to simply attempt to stay off the roads if possible, this is not as easily done as said. More than a week after the storm, even the more occasional drivers have begun to need fuel. With metro transit still not at 100%, even people who may normally not use cars are in need of a means of transportation. Many taxis have seen a sharp increase in traffic since the storm, which is sending them back to the pump even more often than usual. Many New Yorkers have taken to driving to neighboring Connecticut for fuel. The 40 mile drive (or aprox. 2 gallon on average ) is balanced out by taking a can to fill to make up for the gas lost driving there and back. Like the roving hordes of yesteryear, rumors of a promise land full of gas with no lines awaits us in this magical place.

5:47 AM: I’ve got a full tank and a few gallons extra in the Jerry can. Got a call that the power was back online at home, which means this will serve as a much needed reserve. All and all this has been miserable but generally uneventful. Oh … except that one guy to who tried to cut into the line. That ended poorly for him. At least the cop managed to grab him before that other driver did. I guess tempers are running high tonight. I think my sister’s car may be running down to a quarter tank. Might be time to do this all over again tomorrow.

As the situation slowly reaches an apex and begins to return to normalcy, we can only hope that this has been a hard lesson learned. Surely the next storm to hit this area will not only be preceded by a run to the store but by a run to the pump as well.