NEW YORK — Gas stations in many areas of Florida are running out of gasoline, as residents prepare for Hurricane Milton.

Demand for gas has surged as some residents in Milton's path are trying to fuel up before they evacuate. Others who plan to stay put are trying to fill gas tanks so they'll be able to power their generators should they lose electricity for an extended period.

Gas price tracking service GasBuddy reported that as of 12:43 p.m. MDT Wednesday afternoon, 24.3% of gas stations statewide — or nearly 1 in 4 — were without fuel, a dramatic spike from just 3% on Monday. With about 7,900 stations in the state, that estimate means more than 1,900 stations are currently without gasoline. That compares to about 17.4% of gas stations statewide without fuel as recently as noon MDT on Tuesday.

The situation was far worse in areas facing evacuation orders along the Gulf Coast. In the Fort Myers-Naples area, 36.6% of stations were without gas as of Wednesday afternoon, or more than one in three. It's even worse further north. Forty-four percent of stations were out of gas in the Sarasota area and 62% in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, or nearly two out of every three. There were even shortages further inland, as more than 28% of stations in the Orlando-Jacksonville area were out of gas.

"It's a testament to how fast the storm is moving and how intense it is," said Patrick De Haan, an energy analyst at GasBuddy. "It's a game changer."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to tamp down panic buying and drivers topping off tanks, which can make shortages worse. DeSantis in a press conference Tuesday morning assured residents that the state is working to bring emergency supplies of gasoline to stations that have run out of gas.

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He said the state's reserves include 110,000 gallons of gasoline and 268,000 gallons of diesel fuel. He said while those reserves are falling because of distribution that has already taken place, there are 1.2 million gallons of both fuels currently en route to the state. DeSantis said 27 fuel trucks were escorted by the Florida Highway Patrol to deliver fuel to stations in the anticipated impact area of the storm.

"We have been dispatching fuel over the past 24 hours as gas stations have run out," he said at a press conference early Tuesday. "There is no fuel shortage. Fuel continues to arrive to the state of Florida. But lines at gas stations have been long and gas stations are running out quicker than they otherwise would."

Problems could persist after Milton passes

Once the storm passes, problems getting gasoline into the state could persist if there is damage to the Port of Tampa from the hurricane, said gasoline market experts. That's because that port is a key entry point for much of the gasoline that arrives in the state, via tanker or barge.

From there, it is distributed the rest of the state by tanker trucks and by a pipeline leading to the Orlando area. But there are no pipelines bringing gasoline from refineries on the Gulf Coast or northern states as fuel is moved around much of the rest of the country.

"The Port of Tampa is critical to supply for much of the state," said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for OPIS, which tracks gasoline prices for AAA. "It is one of most crucial pieces of fuel infrastructure in the country. I'd be hard-pressed to find a market more dependent on waterborne supply and more susceptible to hurricane and storm surge."

The port has been closed due to the storm, although DeSantis said it has fuel at its gasoline terminals currently and continues to operate ahead of the storm. It could take a little while for it to reopen to tankers and barges once the storm passes, said Andy Lipow, oil analyst with Lipow Oil Associates.

"They will not return until the storm has passed and the Coast Guard checks for debris sunk in the channel and put back the navigation buoys," he said.

And the real fear is that the hurricane and storm surge could cause significant damage to the port.

"We are assuming, it doesn't mean it's going to happen, but we are assuming that there's going to be significant damage to the Port of Tampa, so we're operating as if there's going to be a significant interruption in their ability to receive fuel," said DeSantis. He said state officials are working to make other arrangements to get fuel into the state.

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