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Tijuana Running Low on Fuel, Again

By Amy Isackson / Border Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published July 2, 2008 at 12:54 PM PDT
This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Increased demand for diesel in Tijuana is causing diesel shortages again in the border city. Baja California’s Governor says demand from locals is to blame, not U.S. drivers looking for a bargain. KP

Tijuana Running Low on Fuel, Again

Increased demand for diesel in Tijuana is causing diesel shortages again in the border city. Baja California’s Governor says demand from locals is to blame, not U.S. drivers looking for a bargain. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.

A boat carrying enough diesel to supply the border region for more than a month arrived in Rosarito just ten days ago.

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That supply ended the shortage that caused long lines at some stations around the region and caused some diesel pumps to run dry.

However, problems have revved up again, even though the diesel supplies are there.

This time, government officials say Mexico’s gas company, PEMEX, can’t get the diesel from storage tanks in Rosarito to stations around the region quickly enough.

Officials say demand has surged up to 30 percent.

Rumors that U.S. drivers are filling extra gas tanks with diesel and bringing the fuel back across the border have run rampant. Same for Mexican truckers filling up with more diesel than they need for cross border runs.

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However, the Governor and Mayor of Tijuana say as of now, that’s just rumor.

Meanwhile, Pemex officials have been silent on the issue.

In Tijuana, Amy Isackson, KPBS News.

Amy Isackson
Amy Isackson was the border reporter at KPBS from 2004 to 2011. She covered breaking news and feature stories on California-Mexico border issues and immigration, for local and national broadcast. Amy got her start in public radio by pitching a series of stories about rural New Zealand - horse dentistry and sheep sheering - to Radio New Zealand's "Country Life" program. She then worked with Peabody Award-winning radio producers Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, to help create the Sonic Memorial, a series of stories on the World Trade Center before, during and after 9/11. Amy's work has been recognized with awards from the Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada, the California Chicano News Media Association, and the San Diego Press Club. She won the Sol Price Prize for Responsible Journalism in 2009 from the Society of Professional Journalists for her story about high school students smuggling people and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to venturing into the wonderful world of public radio, Amy worked for Yahoo! Inc. for nearly five years as an editorial surfer, associate producer and broadcast communications manager. She majored in Latin American History at Williams College. She grew up in San Diego and made frequent trips south of the border.
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