Bay Area residents rush to get out of town ahead of Hurricane Milton
TAMPA - Northbound traffic on I-75 started to get heavier, and gas stations began running out of fuel in Hillsborough County Monday ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
Hillsborough County issued a mandatory evacuation order for Evacuation Zones A and B, and for all mobile homes and manufactured housing throughout the County starting at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7.
"Costco, Sam’s: Crazy. Wawa: Crazy," resident Kim Yand said. "It is what it is. Everyone’s out."
Yand said she and her husband went to six gas stations before they found one with gas.
Hurricane Milton Coverage
- Hurricane Milton tracker: Storm rapidly strengthens into strong Category 5
- Hurricane Milton: County-by-county guide
- Tampa International Airport to suspend operations ahead of Hurricane Milton
"God help us all," Yand said of the process of preparing for Hurricane Milton some two weeks after Hurricane Helene.
By Monday afternoon, the Wawa off Dale Mabry in Tampa only had diesel and non-ethanol. Staff on site told FOX 13 that more fuel should be on the way.
The company, GasBuddy, has a Fuel and Power Availability tracker, where Tampa Bay residents can type their city in the search bar to find nearby gas stations with both fuel and power.
The interactive map will also identify gas stations that don't have fuel.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
- Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV
- Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alert, latest headlines
- Download the SkyTower Radar app
- Sign up for FOX 13’s daily newsletter