JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With the latest trend of cold weather, many Florida heaters that often go unused are on full blast, and many homeowners who use kerosene to heat their houses are struggling to find a good supply.
Some homes, especially older ones, use kerosene heaters. One local man said the supplies are low and he had to drive all over town to find it at a reasonable price.
"It's an older house, and I'm not the only one," said Victor Robinson, who planned to fill up on kerosene to heat his home in Talleyrand. "We just heat up with kerosene and the prices are too far-fetched."
Robinson was frustrated to find pumps at a Northside Hess station out of fuel and after going to several other gas stations, he ran into the same problem.
"I was first over there off Norwood (Avenue) at Hess, they said Dunn (Avenue) has it, so I went to Dunn and they ran out," said Robinson.
Robinson said he also went to a gas station off Wilson and another off Interstate 10, but had no luck there either.
After he found gas stations that did have kerosene, he said they were almost double the price. Robinson said he finally found a Gate station at West 45th Street and Moncrief Road, where people have been filling up with reasonable price.
After contacting Hess about the fuel shortage, they said they're aware of the problem. Hess said that demand is currently high and they're trying to re-stock supplies in Jacksonville.