Propane provides clean fuel for fireplaces, dryers, water heaters, furnaces and cooking appliances. The national average cost for an above-ground 250-gallon tank costs about $400 to $1,000 to install.

Anyone camping in California in the not-too-distant-future who needs one of those handheld propane tanks to fuel their stove or lantern or heater won’t be able to find the ones they’re used to buying.