Oregon Fuel Industry Ready for Influx of Solar Eclipse Visitors

The total solar eclipse is just a few days away, and Oregon is ready to welcome up to one million visitors to the state! We are already seeing busy roads heading to the path of totality – and busy gas stations.

It’s important to remember that if a station runs out of fuel, it’s a temporary situation. In preparation for the eclipse, the industry ramped up Oregon’s fuel supply. Fuel is available and deliveries are underway. The biggest challenge to fuel haulers will be traffic and congestion, and the industry is responding with middle-of-the-night deliveries and in some cases multiple deliveries to the same station per day. This is a big uptick in most stations’ delivery schedules.

We’re also hearing reports of long lines and of people showing up with backseats full of gas cans. We have a lot of visitors to our state, and more drivers means more people trying to buy gas. Stations may close lanes to help make sure they’re serving people on a first-come, first-served basis. As for filling up gas cans, that just causes stations to run out of gas sooner and it takes more time, making for a longer wait for the person behind you. Even if you’re concerned about your local station running out of fuel, please know that more deliveries should be coming soon.

We will continue to monitor Oregon’s fuel through the weekend to Monday’s eclipse.

Follow updates from Oregon state agencies on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #OReclipse. Remember to use approved eclipse-viewing glasses, and most of all: have fun!

Hitting the road? Take a look at tripcheck.com to see how the roads are faring.

Curious how the eclipse will affect solar power? Listen to our latest podcast episode!