On Georgia coast, some plan to stay during mandatory evacuation

ST. MARYS – Around noon on Friday, the Cumberland Island National Seashore here was gorgeous. Families walked with children excited for an unexpected day out of school and dogs panting for a dip in the water. They swarmed the playground and stopped by Knuckleheads snack stand for Cokes and sweets. They sat quietly and looked out on the calm of the St. Marys River, which cuts the border between Georgia and Florida as it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

They were taking in the last moments before all the shops closed ahead of Gov. Nathan Deal's ordered evacuation for Hurricane Irma. But, mostly, they brushed off the evacuation, even as they recalled Hurricane Matthew sinking this very ground underwater last year.

Residents said the latest projections on Irma, which show the storm weakening and headed west before it crosses into Georgia, were enough evidence to plan to stay for now.

“If it were a direct hit,” said resident of 11 years Patty Vanhorn, “we’d be gone.”

Vanhorn, who came to the water with 8-year-old son Dean, said she also stayed last year during Matthew. She said her home is east of I-95, the area ordered to evacuate, but the land isn’t prone to flooding, so she isn’t afraid.

Neither is Dean.

“No,” he said, shaking his head.

At Knuckleheads, worker Kurt Schmidtman said he and his wife moved here from New York last year after growing tired of shoveling snow. They arrived in time to meet Matthew and learn about the pitfalls of weather in the South.

They evacuated during that storm but ended up seeing it as an unnecessary inconvenience since they live several miles from the water. This time, they plan to stay.

“I know it’s a mandatory evacuation,” Schmidtman said. “But I left for the last hurricane and came back and was told they won’t force you to leave.”

While residents took in the sun, the district was closing down and boarding up.

At Market on the Square, manager Shannon Disanto said the shop was closing as soon as they sold all the ice cream. Workers loaded other perishables, along with equipment, into a Uhaul truck to take it to drier land.

“Last year, we had a foot of water through the whole store,” Disanto said. “The store had a film of mud.”

It took months to get the store cleaned and replace all the damaged items. This year, they don’t want to test the storm.

Down the road, a small crew boarded shop windows.

The boss, Ken West, said the calls have been picking up as businesses prepare for the storm. He said he personally doesn’t plan to evacuate, because he lives in a reinforced home outside of the mandatory evacuation zone, but he’s been encouraging others to consider leaving.

“My philosophy is, if you have to ask, you need to get out of town,” he said.