Barry Boehlke, with Boehlke Bottled Gas of Cedarburg, pulls up at a customer’s propane gas tank. Credit: Gary Porter

By of the

Citing another wave of frigid weather bearing down on Wisconsin and "dangerously low" supplies of propane, Gov. Scott Walker on Saturday declared a state of emergency and authorized the possible call-up of National Guard troops.

Walker directed all state agencies "to assist as appropriate" in helping residents deal with the propane shortage, which has sent prices soaring and left some users struggling to find a supplier who will provide fuel.

The National Guard has not taken any action at this point, Stephanie Marquis, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration, said Saturday night. The state has gotten no requests for assistance, she said.

Among things the Guard potentially could do are go door to door to check on people, help set up warming shelters, and support state and local emergency management efforts.

Nearly 250,000 Wisconsin homes heat with propane, many in rural areas not served by natural gas lines.

The shortage — attributed to a colder-than-normal winter, the shutdown of a key supply pipeline earlier in the season and heavy use of propane by farmers to dry grain last fall — has sent prices for many customers well above $5 a gallon.

That tops any previous price by far and is more than three times the $1.50 or so that the average state resident paid a year ago. Industry veterans said they've never seen anything like the current situation.

"Not even close," said Tom Cole, a fourth-generation owner of Cole Oil & Propane in Lomira.

Some Wisconsinites, meanwhile, are facing not just a hit to their pocketbook but the fear that they won't be able to buy needed propane.

"There are companies that don't have gas," said Dan Swaagman, manager of Du-Al Gas Inc. in Friesland in Columbia County. "I've got all kinds of (people) calling me who can't get gas from their current providers. And I cannot take new customers right now. I've got to take care of my own people."

Among those having problems, Swaagman said, are people who own their own storage tanks — rather than rent from a supplier — and shop for the cheapest price.

"Now nobody wants to give it to them because they want to take care of their own customers," he said.

If they can. One man who faced both an out-of-propane supplier and the unwillingness of other firms to sell to a new customer is Raymond Metscher, 88, of northern Marinette County. He closed off rooms and wrapped himself in an electric blanket last week as his fuel supply ran dangerously low.

Metscher said the supplier he had contracted with told him on Thursday that they had no propane, and advised him to shop elsewhere. With his tank down to 10%, Metscher called three other providers, but none would take a new customer.

The retired Heil Co. manager placed rugs against the doors to closed-off rooms, bundled up in his winter underwear and made do with electric space heaters and his electric blanket.

Luckily, his son, Mark, was able to persuade his provider to supply his father, too. The price, $5.39 per gallon, didn't bother Raymond Metscher a bit.

"I got that 150 gallons this morning and I had a smile on my face," he said Saturday. "I didn't care what I paid."