‘Should I stay or should I go?’ Beaufort Co. residents split on leaving town
In 10 years, you may ask yourself: Where was I for Hurricane Dorian?
Norm and Liz Peterson will say they were weeding their garden. And making grape jelly.
The couple, who live in Sea Pines full time, were gardening Tuesday afternoon with their elderly chocolate lab, Nestle.
When Dorian comes, they said “our garden will look good. And hopefully we’ll have grape jelly.” The pair weathered through Hurricane Irma in their south end home, although they weren’t around for Hurricane Matthew — when trees fell within 20 yards of the house.
“It’s a lot of work to leave,” Liz said.
Some Beaufort County residents — but not nearly a majority — heeded Tuesday’s tropical storm warnings by gathering supplies, packing cars and fueling the tank before heading west, away from the storm.
“I think people aren’t taking this one serious,” said Emanuel Wheeler of Bluffton, who was on his way with his family to Atlanta. “We were packing this morning, and people were walking by pointing and laughing at us.”
Many longtimers are looking warily at the storm surge predictions — 4 to 7 feet above ground — but are staying put.
Warren Dempsey, walking his dog Tuesday in downtown Beaufort, said he’s staying in part to see what happens to the tomatoes, peppers and corn in the ground. His family, who owns Dempsey Farms on St. Helena Island, opted not to plant pumpkins this year because flooding hurt the crop in previous years.
Generators, chain saws and sand bags stand ready at Dempsey’s home in Beaufort’s Depot area. The neighborhood already had standing water from recent rain, he said.
“That’s what I’m most nervous about the storm,” Dempsey said, “is if it just sits over Beaufort and just floods us out.”
What will we see of Dorian in Beaufort County?
After unleashing catastrophic wind and rain in the Bahamas, powerful Hurricane Dorian started moving northwestward Tuesday, and where it turns north and eventually turns again northeast will determine what threats the storm system will bring to Beaufort County.
The National Weather Service issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Bluffton areas Tuesday in anticipation of Dorian, expected to be a Category 2 hurricane as it passes off the Lowcountry coast late Wednesday through Thursday.
Beaufort County could see 4-8 inches of rain from Wednesday to Thursday, with higher amounts near the coast, according to the latest forecast.
“Prepare for considerable wind damage,” the NWS in Charleston reported Tuesday, warning that Beaufort County should prepare for life-threatening wind equivalent of a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, depending, again, on those turns.
Hilton Head Island’s bridges will not close unless the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office determines that the winds will make traveling across the bridges dangerous, the town of Hilton Head Island said in a news release.
No curfews had been set in Beaufort County as of Tuesday morning, but Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said officials are “having discussions now” about whether to enact one.
Preparations?
Inside Hilton Head Wine & Spirit Shop at The Plaza in Shelter Cove, it was a slow — but fairly typical — Tuesday morning.
While Sheriff Tanner’s 11 a.m. news conference played on a television in the corner, the store was the only one not locked down for Hurricane Dorian. The shopkeeper said the store is staying open “because we’re local.”
The store stayed open until about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and the most common purchase was Tito’s Vodka and Fireball.
Some would say Hilton Head is ready for the storm.
Joshua Jeffers of Hardeeville is a native and doesn’t plan to evacuate his family. His home was built to sustain 150-mph winds, he said.
He is prepared with chain saws, extra fuel, a generator, coolers of ice, food and tons of water.
“We have back-up chargers for my kid’s cell phones,” Jeffers said. He added with a smile, “That is probably the most important thing.”
Jeffers said he plans to be out on the road soon after the storm, helping to clear roads.
On Hilton Head, the Petersons said they’re going through life as usual — ready for a repeat of a storm like Hurricane Irma.
Further north in Beaufort County, William Nestor and his wife, Vicki, cruised on bicycles through Pigeon Point Park in Beaufort on Tuesday before leaving town.
They planned to evacuate to Columbia and keep an eye on the storm’s path.
“You don’t play games with Mother Nature.” Nestor said. “You never know what it’s going to do, so you just get prepared and do what you’ve got to do.”
Nestor drives a truck for a freight shipping company and said he might have to return as early as Tuesday night for work. A day after Hurricane Matthew arrived in 2016, he drove to Columbia to pick up a load of generators to bring back after the storm.
St. Helena Island resident Crystal McClain ducked into Walmart on Lady’s Island for beverages before hitting the road with her family on a 4-hour trip to Atlanta. McClain, who evacuated to Columbia during Hurricane Matthew, said the Georgia hotel was better than driving all the way to her native Virginia.
Gov. Henry McMaster “said leave,” she said, “so we’re going to leave.”
Staff writers Teresa Moss and Stephen Fastenau contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 5:26 PM.
