In good company: These Hilton Head residents banded together to ride out Hurricane Irma

As Hurricane Irma continued its track north Sunday evening, a group of Hilton Head Island residents joined together to ride out the storm in two homes on Heron Street.

Some came for safety, some for comfort and others for a community that confirmed they weren’t alone.

Hilton Head native and entrepreneur Shane Gould opened up his two homes, at 3 and 5 Heron St., to residents who decided not to evacuate but were still looking for a safe place to ride out the effects of Hurricane Irma.

Gould, who owns Fuel Clothing Company, posted Saturday on his company’s Instagram account: “If anyone needs a safe place from the storm, I am opening my houses 3 & 5 Heron Street up to anyone in need during the hurricane. They are 17 feet above sea level, new construction and full hurricane glass and sleeps 28.”

His Heron Street homes have become a point of contention for some Forest Beach neighborhood residents in recent months, but he said the decision to open up his homes had nothing to do with the recent conflict.

“It was just an opportunity for me to be like, ‘Look, I have a place where people can stay, so why not offer it up,’ ” Gould told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette on Sunday.

Gould said that, earlier in the week, the group of people who were supposed to stay in the houses over the weekend canceled due to the hurricane.

“That was kind of the turning point where I said, ‘They’re not coming, so I might as well open the doors,’ ” he said.

Gould began by reaching out to some friends and neighbors on the island and then posted the idea to the public on his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

After a few hours, he said he started hearing from people all over the island, including parents with children, friends who didn’t want to be alone and even some people he didn’t even know.

Samuel Long, 57, a resident of North Forest Beach, said he was ready to drive to Georgia before hearing that Gould was opening up his homes.

“My plan was to go to North Augusta, but overnight, a day and a half ago, (the hurricane) changed to go right toward North Augusta and Atlanta,” he said.

Although Long admitted he was a little nervous to stay on the island for the storm, he said he figured he would be safest in Gould’s home on Heron Street.

“I think it’s incredible,” he said about Gould’s decision to invite others into his homes. “Have you heard of anyone else on the island doing it? Name one other person on the island that did it whose house is built hurricane-proof.”

At about 4 p.m. Sunday, residents started to trickle in, and Gould expected that by the end of the night, the houses might be close to full capacity.

Doreen Kuenzler, 49, said she tried to find a hotel after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an evacuation order for the island, but she couldn’t find an open room.

Kuenzler was worried about bringing her two cats with her, she said, but Gould “didn’t even hesitate” to allow her to bring them along for the night or two.

“When I saw Shane’s post on Facebook, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s so generous,’ ” Kuenzler said. “But this is very in character of him.”

After she unpacked her snacks and placed them in the refrigerator, Kuenzler sat down on a chair next to one friend and one person she had never met before.

“I think riding it out with a bunch more folks will be a lot more fun than hunkering down alone in my little apartment,” she said.

This story was originally published September 10, 2017 at 7:56 PM with the headline "In good company: These Hilton Head residents banded together to ride out Hurricane Irma."