By Sam Karlin
The Times-Picayune
Though lines at the pumps remain stubbornly long amid a pitiless heatwave, Louisiana is finally taking baby steps toward alleviating the ongoing fuel shortage that arrived with Hurricane Ida.
Some of the state’s 16 refineries have in recent days resumed distributing fuel after gaining at least limited power. The state has sent fuel tankers across the hard-hit southeast part of the state to make sure government generators, cop cars and fire trucks remain full. Meanwhile, power companies on Friday continued to slowly but steadily turn on the lights, alleviating some of the pressure on the gas supply from generators powering homes.