'Supply is not an issue': Gas station refueling delays blamed on poor winter conditions

Some gas stations on Vancouver Island have been seeing shipment delays following recent heavy snowfall.

Resupply issues in communities in the Mid- and North Island are largely due to poor road conditions, and icy conditions at individual gas stations, according to industry workers.

Joe Bailey, terminal manager with Bridgeway Transportation, says drivers are having difficulty travelling highways that have not been well maintained in the snow.

"Whoever's looking after the South Island is doing a bang-up job," he said. "But north of there, we're down to two tracks in the snow northbound from Chemainus right through to Port Hardy, essentially."

Bailey says that fewer trucks have been able to safely complete trips on the island because of the road conditions.

"Maneuvering with 63,000 kilos gross-weight has not been easy," he said.

"From a safety perspective we don't want to be putting our guys in positions where they could get hurt or where people could run into them, or whatever the case may be."

ICE AND SNOW AT GAS STATIONS

Bailey adds that conditions at individual gas stations are also causing difficulty for delivery drivers.

In some cases, if the refueling areas pose safety risks to drivers, fuel may have to be brought to a different gas station instead.

"We've found that in some cases they don't want to be out there clearing the 'tank nest' area," said Bailey.

Gas stations receive their fuel in large underground tanks which are then distributed to individual pumps.

Bailey says that some gas stations are doing a poor job of clearing "tank nests" of ice and snow, which creates unsafe conditions for workers who are handling heavy loads.

"So our guys can't do our job without fear of falling or being injured," he said.

If a gas station is found to be in unfit condition for refueling, drivers will take their shipments to other nearby stations.

"We had to delay some loads going into the Cowichan Valley until they got their sites clear," said Bailey. "Nanaimo is just simply horrid."

'WORST YEAR I'VE EVER SEEN'

The terminal manager says that while it's unusual for Vancouver Island to receive this much snow, gas stations are aware of what safety standards need to be met.

"Honestly this is the worst year I've ever seen," said Bailey.

"Even in '96 when we had the big blizzard on Vancouver Island, we had three or four days where things kind of came to a halt but then everybody got back on it right away and people were in tune with what needed to be done."

Bailey says "supply is not an issue" with recent snowfall, but driving on the island over the past six days has "just been atrocious."

Bridgeway Transportation estimates that more than 50 stations were out of gas on Vancouver Island Friday.

Bailey expects any refueling delays to last a day or two in each community.

He estimates fuel shipments are down 60 per cent compared to usual winter conditions.