Most people hunting for gas Saturday in Central Florida were met with closed signs, and those who found an open service station quickly learned no gas was to be had.
The shortage reached a critical point Saturday after ships transporting gas were unable to dock at Florida's ports.
Gov. Jeb Bush asked Floridians to be patient and not panic about the gasoline shortage.
"We've been working with the oil companies, and I feel better today than I did yesterday," Bush said.
Most of Florida's gasoline comes via tanker into ports in Tampa, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale. The Port of Tampa closed at 3 a.m. Saturday. Other ports remained open but tankers were unable to dock because of wind and rain.
At least six tankers are waiting out at sea for the storm to pass, said Colleen Castille, director of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"They are also bringing in additional trucks and additional workers will be flying in once the airports open," Castille said.
Emergency officials across the state said they believed gas was still available at stations along Florida's Turnpike. But along the interstates many pump handles were wrapped in bags and shrink wrap.
In Orange County, most stations along major highways were out of gas. But those off smaller streets were more likely to still have fuel.
"You can find it," said Steve Triggs, an Orange County spokesman. "You just have to look around."
About 5 miles from Jensen Beach on Florida's Turnpike, service station manager Rick Huggins smoked a cigarette and vowed to stay open through the storm. He and four employees have slept in a room filled with tires and other auto equipment since Monday. They expected to sleep there for several more nights.
Although he was the only station with gas for miles around, he didn't understand why people were driving around in the middle of a Category 2 hurricane.
"It makes no sense to me," he said, pointing at a car that had stopped for gas and swayed in the squall. "They've got no business out here."
Bush warned that many gas stations in the affected areas will have to close anyway because of power outages, giving the supply companies a chance to refuel.
"The bigger problem with getting gasoline is powering up the gas stations," Bush said.
In Tampa, gas stations enjoyed steady business Saturday - at least until supplies ran out.
Yellow accident scene tape surrounded the pumps at the Shell station at Kennedy Boulevard and Howard Avenue. As wind gusts blew away the red and yellow banners, clerk Shahed Iqbal said the tanks were empty when he arrived for his 2 p.m. shift.
At the Chevron at Kennedy and West Shore boulevards, manager Mi Enriquez said people were smart to load up Saturday because she didn't expect another gas delivery for days.
"I'm going to run out," she said.
Vanna Ho, manager of the BP station on S Dale Mabry Highway, got gas delivered Friday, which left her in good supply for the weekend. "They say a lot of gas stations are empty," she said.
Times staff writers Tamara Lush, Michael Sandler, Chris Tisch, Alisa Ulferts and Josh Zimmer contributed to this report.
Pinellas 
