Desert Chances to Refuel Are Drying Up

MECCA, Calif. —  The far-flung desert regions have never been known for hiding fuel pumps behind every drought-resistant bush. But now motorists traveling desert highways and back roads have to be extra careful that they don’t wind up cruising on fumes.

Many mom and pop gasoline stations, unable to afford federal safety standards on underground storage tanks that went into effect last week, have stopped pumping gas. That’s not a big problem in urban areas where another station often is around the corner. But in Southern California’s desert regions, the new, longer distances between gas stops are stranding motorists on empty.

Last week, Caltrans posted signs warning drivers that there is no fuel service for the entire 100 miles of Interstate 10 between Indio and Blythe. Until recently, about a 40-mile drive would get you gas there.

Capt. David Webb of the California Highway Patrol’s Border Division, which includes the barren miles between San Diego and Yuma, Ariz., said he has heard reports of more frequent breakdowns as drivers miscalculate how far their tanks would take them. The desert, he explained, always relied more on “little guys,” the independent gas stations that were less able than chains to afford the new storage tanks required by environmental rules.

The Auto Club of Southern California will be watching for an increase in calls next month for roadside assistance in the desert, a spokesman said. It is too soon to say what effect the stations’ closings have had on motorists, he added.

However, Bobby Colvin already has the answer on California 111, along the Salton Sea.

“There’s people up and down this road running out of gas. I’ve made a few dollars giving people lifts. Just last week I picked up three people between here and Niland,” said Colvin, 58, a Mecca resident. Only one gas station remains open on that 39-mile stretch.

The area was never popping with gas pumps. Now, Colvin advises travelers “to be dang sure they plan ahead, ‘cause there’s about two stations between here and Mexico.”

A handyman, Colvin recently helped pump out underground gas tanks for stations that had to meet the new standards or stop selling gas by Dec. 23. On Tuesday, he was lending a hand at Poor Richard’s, which used to be the only gas station that stayed open after 9 p.m. on the 70 miles of California 111 between Brawley and Indio.

“Not everyone knows yet that we’re not selling, so when we tell them, they say ‘Oh man, I’m short on gas. I hope I make it,” said cashier Elba DelaO, the sister-in-law of owner Elva Perez.

Like most stations in remote areas, Poor Richard’s sold more than gasoline. A customer still can pick up snack bags of dried shrimp, sodas, hardware, shampoo and a dozen mudsuckers for bait. In the early morning, foremen from nearby farms stop in for coffee and shop talk. But this community hub has been decidedly quieter since the station stopped selling gas.

“I feel bad because so many people rely on us,” Perez said. “Fishermen rely on us for gas in the evenings on their way home. The people around here rely on us for essentials and just coming in for coffee and company. We’re so much more than a gas station.”

Perez said she was unable to obtain a bank loan for the $123,000 it would cost to upgrade her tanks to avoid possible underground leaks. Above-ground tanks cost about $43,000. Perez is closely following reports that state and federal governments may provide low-interest loans to help independent owners meet the environmental rules aimed at protecting water supplies.

About five miles away, at the North Shore Liquor and Service, also close to the Salton Sea, co-owner Martha Adame said she has had more and more customers gliding in on fumes, and grateful to find her station open and pumping from upgraded tanks that meet the federal rules.

“For a while, there’s going to be a lot of people stranded in the middle of the road,” she predicted. “But once they run out of gas, it won’t happen a second time.”

To the north, if some travelers through Kern County does not gas up in Ridgecrest and winds up stranded 20 miles away on sparsely populated U.S. 395, locals direct them to an octogenarian willing to help. He has brushed up the gas-sucking skills he first perfected pilfering gas during the Great Depression.

He siphons gas with a hose from his own car into a can and charges $5 a gallon.

Grateful motorists usually hand him at least a $20 bill. “The ones without cash write me a check for even more and you wouldn’t believe how many people don’t carry cash,” said the man, who did not want to be identified because it is illegal to store and sell gas that way.

He estimated that he now gets between three and five customers a week. He always sends them off with a warning to fill up in the next big town.

CHP’s Webb offers the same advice.

“We usually say drivers should fuel up whenever they hit a quarter-of-a-tank, but now they should keep it higher,” Webb said. “Completely fill the tank before driving through remote areas. Don’t rely on the next little town because you may be out of luck.”