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Part-time resident watches and waits
Staff Writer It was a beautiful day Thursday in Naples, Fla., but John Beyer knows that may be changing.
Beyer and his wife, Gloria, who split their time between Brainerd and Naples, are watching to see what Hurricane Wilma will do. Currently ripping through Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Hurricane Wilma is on course to make landfall on southern Florida -- and the Gulf Coast city of Naples -- on Sunday.
Despite that possibility, and with the fresh memory of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Beyer said his city had not been evacuated. That order was expected at 3 p.m. Friday. He also said residents have not panicked in Naples.
"They're not getting out in a hurry, they all seem to be taking their time," Beyer said. "We're waiting to see what they tell us to do and we'll abide to it. It's kind of a scary program not knowing what to do."
Beyer said his second-floor condo should be safe. He's more than a mile from the ocean and 18-feet above sea level. Storm surges are only expected to be 12 to 17 feet. Just in case the electricity goes out, Beyer said he and his wife have stocked up on water and canned food.
Just to the south of Naples, on Marco Island, a mandatory evacuation was issued Thursday in anticipation of Hurricane Wilma. E. Terry Skone, a Brainerd area resident who also has a home on Marco Island, said he arrived in Brainerd Wednesday.
But Skone didn't evacuate his house, he came to Brainerd on business.
"I was just fortunate that the timing was right," he said.
Beyer said if evacuated he would go north to Osceola, Fla., or Valdosta, Ga., and there have already been reports of traffic jams to the north, in Sarasota, Fla., as people from the southern tip of Florida escape Hurricane Wilma.
He said moving east across the Florida panhandle has been ruled out because the hurricane could move in that direction.
(This story includes information from The Associated Press.)
MATT ERICKSON can be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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Overcast, 61°
