Evacuees fill Marianna motels

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Mandatory evacuation orders have been in place for Franklin and Gulf counties as well as many counties in the Big Bend. As Helene makes landfall, Jackson County has become a hub for evacuees.

“Got a lot of traffic coming through our county via the interstate. People evacuating to the east of here, to the west,” Jackson County Sheriff Donnie Edenfield said.

Many residents in danger zones began planning earlier this week, where they would hunker down for safety.

“We’re here to save our lives. Everything else can be replaced. You know, and we want to live. If we have to do that, we’ll be alive to do that,” Edenfield said.

Hudgens and his wife made reservations at a Comfort Inn and Suites in Marianna earlier this week and checked in Wednesday afternoon.

“We live about 17 miles south of Perry, Florida, on the Gulf Coast side west side and our house is about maybe a mile from the actual coastline. So we’re here evacuating,” evacuee Danny Hudgens said.

The couple’s home had major damages after Hurricane Idalia. Since then they haven’t taken any risks. Hudgens said most of his neighbors evacuated as well.

Several motels in Jackson County are fully booked with people seeking higher ground and a safe place to wait out the storm.

Residence Hub Inn and Suites in Marianna is one of those establishments.

“We’ve seen a major spike. We are at capacity. We’ve been at capacity Wednesday, we will be at capacity today,” Front Desk Associate Nicole Newson said.

Most guests checked in Wednesday, but Newton says they were expecting up to 20 more check-ins Thursday afternoon. Most people are scheduled to check out on Friday. And evacuees are hoping the roads will be clear for their journey home.

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