Just received a tip from a friend that avgas may be in short supply at KSPB soon. Apparently a lack of fuel delivery truck drivers, compounded by the growing need for gas in airborne firefighting efforts, is causing the shortage.

May be time to to try out that MOGAS STC...

What in the firefighting fleet would take 100LL? Everything I see is turbine powered.

Local news story here in Idaho today, the governor just waived the maximum hours a truck driver can work in a day for the next 30 days, because of a shortage of Jet fuel for firefighting. Apparently they have plenty of fuel, not enough truck drivers to deliver it. Doesn't make sense to me.

StillLearning wrote:What in the firefighting fleet would take 100LL? Everything I see is turbine powered.

Truck DRIVER shortage. Takes trucks to haul avgas and jet fuel. Guess where the priority will be?

MTV

There are 182s and 206s flying recon and twin commanders flying air attack. Those are the only piston powered airplanes flying wildfire that I am aware of.

This is interesting. It is some of the cheapest gas in the valley right now. Hope the prices and the smoke don't get too bad to slow the flying down.

TransWestern FBO at KSPB completely out of 100LL when I called yesterday. Not expecting a delivery until next week.

We were talking to a firefighting helicopter MX crew this morning in Washington. They have only ONE day of JET-A left in their semi tanker and have found no known source for more fuel. We put them in touch with some crop dusters that have big fuel supplies. Don't know what the final outcome was. I was talking to a life long truck driving neighbor. He stated this isn't a truck or driver issue. This is an over-regulation issue IRT fuel truck drivers/requirements/laws.

Dale Moul wrote: Local news story here in Idaho today, the governor just waived the maximum hours a truck driver can work in a day for the next 30 days, because of a shortage of Jet fuel for firefighting......

Saw on TV news out governor in WA did the same thing.
If that's the problem, good idea, but I'm not so sure that a state governor has the authority to do that.
Seems like the feds have (or used to have anyway) jurisdiction.

The two Del Norte gas stations run out of gas every two days now. Takes a day or two to get a load.
The one pump offering no ethanol premium up in South Fork now at $4.99 for same.
Avgas at KRCV $4.85
Interesting times.......
Tom

jugheadF15 wrote:We were talking to a firefighting helicopter MX crew this morning in Washington. They have only ONE day of JET-A left in their semi tanker and have found no known source for more fuel. We put them in touch with some crop dusters that have big fuel supplies. Don't know what the final outcome was. I was talking to a life long truck driving neighbor. He stated this isn't a truck or driver issue. This is an over-regulation issue IRT fuel truck drivers/requirements/laws.

If the driver or truck doesn't meet regulatory standards, then it is, in fact a truck or driver shortage....at least that's the net effect.

MTV

Seems like the feds have (or used to have anyway) jurisdiction.

Here in Iowa the Governor has generally been signing a proclamation at harvest time raising the weight limit from 80,000 to 90,000 for 90 days. That is not good on the Interstate highway though. Also, do you wonder where all the drivers went? Are they staying home collecting a government check instead? Thankfully no fuel problem around here and my crop duster friend just took delivery of Jet A and our flying club tank was replenished a couple weeks ago although it was a more than the last time. We're at $4 instead of 3.50 P.S. I used to haul livestock cross country back the the 80's and 90's------thank goodness they didn't check my log book very much.

I heard today that KTTD was out of fuel temporally until 07/20/21. KSPB was out of fuel all weekend. I decided to call my friend who owns the FBO at KKLS. He informed me there is a supply shortage throughout the entire Pacific Northwest. He said the Seattle area was having similar problems. Apparently the Hazmat fuel transport regulations have recently been changed making it more expensive and complicated to transport fuel. Truck drivers are taking more lucrative contracts elsewhere leading to a supply shortage of drivers. My friend suggested this problem will lead to supply shortages with automobile gasoline. Ultimately this will lead to much higher prices for fuel of any type.


Josh

Stopped at KSPB this afternoon and they are out until further notice. Twin Oaks (7S3) had fuel in case anyone is looking in the Willamette Valley. The price wasn't too bad either at $4.80

StillLearning wrote:What in the firefighting fleet would take 100LL? Everything I see is turbine powered.

CL-215’s?

Dog is my Copilot wrote:I heard today that KTTD was out of fuel temporally until 07/20/21. KSPB was out of fuel all weekend. I decided to call my friend who owns the FBO at KKLS. He informed me there is a supply shortage throughout the entire Pacific Northwest. He said the Seattle area was having similar problems. Apparently the Hazmat fuel transport regulations have recently been changed making it more expensive and complicated to transport fuel. Truck drivers are taking more lucrative contracts elsewhere leading to a supply shortage of drivers. My friend suggested this problem will lead to supply shortages with automobile gasoline. Ultimately this will lead to much higher prices for fuel of any type.


Josh

I wonder if these new regulations were instituted post January 21st????

AvGas shortage made it onto Kathryn's Report:
http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2021/07/red-bluff-airport-krbl-runs-out-of-fuel.html

I asked my friends that are involved in fire aviation and they haven’t heard anything about it. Maybe it’s a only a problem in some areas?

Read "The Prize" to understand oils relationship to national and international politics. Oil companies operate more like small nations than like normal companies. In time of war or deep crisis, they legally collude to deliver. When over regulated, they shut down and wait. That wait is generally short term. As oil use declines, they invest in other forms of energy. Big navies moved smoothly from sail to coal to oil and finally to nuclear. Big nations, other than France, not so smoothly.

Anyway, when the crisis has gotten bad enough, oil companies have historically delivered.