Denver native turned Tampa resident shares preparations for Hurricane Milton

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A Denver-area native is hunkering down in his Tampa home Wednesday night, bracing for Hurricane Milton.

28-year-old Keaton Thames of Highlands Ranch and his wife, 30-year-old Ashley Thames, moved to Florida in October 2020. Since then, they have experienced Hurricanes Ian, Irma, Helene and now Milton.

“I think the first one, we were freaking out. It definitely, as you get more accustomed to them, you see that everybody else is typically more calm and that gives you a little bit of reassurance,” said Keaton. “It’s hectic. There’s lots of unknowns, what’s going to happen, so kind of a big mass panic.”

The Thames couple, and their two dogs, are staying put in their home for now, about a mile and a half north of the bay, outside of the flood zone. Hurricane Milton crossed into Florida Wednesday evening.

“All of our friends in the area, they are all evacuated because they are in flood zones,” said Keaton. “Traffic was really crazy. Some of our friends left in the middle of the night and had seven to eight-hour drives that were typically three-hour drives … panic rush for gas and things like that.”

With shutters on all of their windows, and bathtubs full of water, the Thames’ neighborhood is still cleaning up the mess of Hurricane Helene a few days ago.

“Typically in newer houses… they are pretty much all concrete and all our windows are hurricane proof up to like a Category 4,” said Ashley.

“Not all of that debris was picked up leading up to Hurricane Milton so we still have piles of debris on the road that likely is just going to turn into missiles essentially,” said Keaton.

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