Fears grow as gas search turns up empty for most...

That was the overwhelming feeling (of dread) that began to emerge Tuesday as tens of thousands of area residents hit the roads looking for precious fuel — and in most cases, coming up empty.

"People are starting to panic about the fact that without electricity, there's no way to get gas at the gas stations," said Cheryl Kruger, a Delray Beach resident.

Kruger and other residents in Palm Beach County and parts of the Treasure Coast woke up Tuesday to the grim news that power might not be restored for weeks. That means the hasty fill-ups for cars and generators before Hurricane Wilma might have to last longer than expected.

Before the storm sped through South Florida on Monday, Gov. Jeb Bush said the state had plenty of gasoline to meet demand. That was repeated by a state spokeswoman Tuesday.

"There are more than 199 million gallons of fuel in our ports, including 150 million gallons of gasoline and 48 million gallons of diesel," said Sarah Williams, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. She added that "more than 160 million gallons will be shipped during the next three days."

But that doesn't help consumers if most local gas stations don't have electricity to run their pumps. "It's like having water to drink but not being able to get to it," said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association in Tallahassee.

To make matters worse, Palm Beach County residents can't head south to Broward for gas, causing a greater demand than after last year's storms.

After Frances and Jeanne struck last year, many residents rushed out to buy generators to keep their refrigerators cold and the lights on at night. But those generators drink a lot of gas; a 5,500-watt machine can use as much as 10 gallons in a 24-hour period.

"We have gas for two more days, and that's it," said Michelle Howery of Boca Raton. "We can't find it anywhere."

A few gas stations were open for business Tuesday, including those along Florida's Turnpike, which had generators to operate the fuel pumps.

But lines at those stations were agonizingly long. At a Hess station in Royal Palm Beach, the line of cars spilled onto U.S. 441, then stretched around the corner west on Okeechobee Boulevard. A station on Federal Highway in Boynton Beach had a line that stretched 2 miles.

Kruger's husband, Mark, said he waited from 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for gas at the Lake Worth Service Plaza on the turnpike. During the long wait, some drivers ditched their manners and tried to cut in line.

"One guy in a black pickup truck tried to cut in front of me," Kruger said. "I told him, 'I've been waiting in line for four hours. Either turn around and leave or get in the back of the line.' "

But when Kruger finally made his way to the pump, he was allowed to buy only $20 worth of gas.

"They told everybody to go out and get generators so they'll be self-sufficient," Kruger said. "Well, I'm being very cautious with my fuel, but we need gas for the generators — and now we can't get it."

Gas stations can run on generators, but they cost from $45,000 to $70,000, according to the Florida Petroleum Marketers.

Some station owners are considering shelling out the money. Cindy Branich, an employee at the Citgo station in Palm Beach Gardens, said the owner was "in the process of trying to locate a generator."

The state provides generators for critical services, including hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis centers, but officials said there were no plans to supply generators to gas stations.

AAA surveyed stations in Florida and found many struggling. "Virtually all areas south of Melbourne on the east coast have little to no fuel or no power to pump the fuel. The one exception is the turnpike, where the lines are ridiculously long," said Gregg Laskoski, spokesman for AAA Auto Club South in Tampa.

Don't expect help from Palm Beach County. During a morning radio show Tuesday, Vince Bonvento, the assistant county administrator in charge of emergency services, suggested the county could provide generators to gas stations.

But in a telephone interview later, Bonvento backed away from the idea, especially when informed of the cost. "We need to look at some possible long-range scenarios, but I don't know what they would be right now," Bonvento said.

Some residents aren't waiting around. Cheryl Kruger said one neighbor planned to leave for Georgia.

"I've got another neighbor going to his Hutchinson Island home," Kruger said. "They've got electric up there, and he's filling everybody's portable gas tanks for them."

The only antidote to the gas crunch appears to be having the electricity back on. That was the happy occurrence at a Marathon station in Lake Park, which had power restored at noon Tuesday.

Manager Muhammad Saadat said the station normally holds 28,000 gallons of gas. When the power came on, it started pumping its remaining 3,800. He expected all of the gas to be gone by 3:30 p.m.

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