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Stay or Go? Evacuation Poses Decisions in Charlotte County

Mike Walcher
Charlotte County has issued mandatory evacuation orders for people living in mobile or manufactured homes, on some barrier islands, and in low-lying, flood-prone areas.

Charlotte County opened shelters Wednesday afternoon to take in those who've been ordered to leave their homes, as well as anyone else who doesn't feel safe.

The mandatory evacuation order covers mobile and manufactured homes, and homes on barrier islands and in low-lying areas. This is happening in advance of tropical system Helene. The forecast is that wind and rain from Helene will sweep across Charlotte County, as the system heads northward in the Gulf of Mexico.

Wednesday morning John Wood said he planned to put shutters on his mobile home near Punta Gorda. He said he will clear out in advance of the storm. He said he'll go to stay with his daughter, who has a concrete block home not too far from his place.

"Be kinda scary to be in this place in a storm with all the wind and rain," Wood said. "I've been here in the tropical storms we've had. So, ahh, take precautions." 

Jean Frank lives in a manufactured home in Punta Gorda Isles.

'I'm not going anywhere," Frank said. "I've been in my home in other storms and by the grace of God I was alright.  Although there was damage to the home."

Governments generally cannot force someone out of their home because of a storm threat. But it can warn people: you're on your own, don't expect emergency services to rescue you at the height of a storm.

Jean Frank says she's never left her home, during many storms in this area, the past 40 years.

"I will take my chances.  that's what it boils down to.  I know the risks,"  she said.

Rich Waggoner said he's not leaving his concrete block home in Punta Gorda Isles. He said it was built in 2004 to the Miami-Dade construction standards. Those guidelines were put into place after Hurricane Andrew.

Technically Waggoner's property is not under an evacuation order, but the house is on a canal, and only a block or so from the shores of Charlotte Harbor.

"I'm not losing sleep over it," Waggoner said of Helene. "I am more worried about Friday. We are supposed to fly to Michigan. I am just hoping Fort Myers will be open. I would think the airport would be fine."

He explained that he and his wife have tickets to a football game at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The game is Saturday and he said he would hate to miss it.

Waggoner said his home is 10 feet above sea level, and he's counting on the prediction of three to five-foot storm surge to be accurate.

"It's a way of life down here," he said of tropical threats. "If you can't accept it, you shouldn't be here.  That's my feeling."

Charlotte County said the following shelter locations will be open as of 1 p.m.:

Kingsway Elementary School at 23300 Quasar Blvd., Port Charlotte. And Harold Avenue Regional Park Recreation Center,  23400 Harold Ave., Port Charlotte.

If you go a shelter you must bring supplies for each family member and pets. All Charlotte County shelters are pet friendly.

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Forty-one-year veteran of television news in markets around the country, including more than 18 years as an anchor and reporter at WINK-TV in southwest Florida.