"Don't let the calmness that we're having right now fool you"
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published September 3, 2004
VERO BEACH -- As the storm approaches, Nathan McCollum is wearing two hats.
McCollum, 45, is both the emergency management coordinator for Indian River and the mayor of the city of Sebastian, a community of 17,000 about 10 miles north of Vero Beach.
McCollum said he sealed his house behind metal shutters, packed his insurance papers and sent off his 110-pound gold retriever, "Tropics," to Orlando with his brother. He turned his city over to the city manager and said he was focused Friday on one thing: protecting the people of Indian River County.
"Our sole purpose with this system is to save life," he said.
Four county shelters are open, and even if they fill up, there is always room for one more as the storm bears down, he said. The barrier island beachside has been evacuated, and no one, not even national network televison crews, were going to be allowed there, he said.
By 1 p.m. Friday, McCollum said compliance with evacuation orders on the beachside and for mobile home owners has been excellent. People saw what happened in Charlotte County during Hurricane Charley last month, he said.
"I'm so proud of the people of Indian River County," he said.
McCollum said that Hurricane Frances has encountered difficult conditions and appears to be breaking apart in places, but the outer bands of heavy rain are visible on the county's radar feed, and the potential is there for a 15-foot storm surge that would sink the beachside as well as heavy rain that would flood the low-lying county, he said.
A curfew was put in place, from dusk to dawn, beginning Friday evening. Beer and liquor sales would be forbidden as the curfew approached, McCollum said.
Judging the time the storm will hit is proving a challenge, he said. McCollum said despite some reports that the storm may not strike until later Saturday, he believes tropical storm winds could beging as early as Friday night.
There's a lot of uncertainty.
In a broadcast televised on local cable to the people of Indian River County -- a county that has never seen steady winds above 90 mph -- McCollum appealed to viewers to stay the course and have patience.
"Don't let the calmness that we're having right now fool you," he said. "I know you've done a lot of hard work. I know it's frustrating just sitting in your home and waiting. Please don't get impatient. Be calm.' "
