Locals with connections to South Florida share concerns about Hurricane Irma

Along with his Palm Springs restaurant, Azul Georgie’s Alibi, George Kessinger said his other home is south Florida.

Having lived and owned a bar in Fort Lauderdale for more than 40 years, he said throughout that time he has experienced his fair share of hurricanes.

“All I remember, in most of them, is just mountains of wood chips after every storm,” Kessinger said. “There’s just mountains and mountains of wood chips in the different parts. They just pile up.”

This weekend, he and fellow south Florida native Ron Bowdoin are concerned for family living back east with Hurricane Irma expected to make landfall in the area.

“My father’s 92, (and) he’s tough,” Kessigner said. “He’ll be fine. He’s been through as many as I have, but he’ll be just fine. My brother’s there. He’s with my brother (and) my sister-in-law. My nephew’s there. Everybody’s tightened up.”

The hurricane is one of the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic.

“My aunts, uncles and most of all of the cousins have evacuated,” Bowdowin, the General Manager for Chill Bar in Palm Springs said. “Traffic has been terrible. I’ve got one cousin that’s chosen to remain, because their home is 30 feet above sea level, newly constructed and very sturdy. So, they’re going to stay put.”

Both men said Irma is expected to be stronger than Hurricane Andrew, a storm that 25 years ago, left an impact on south Florida that stands to this day.

“It was definitely a scary situation,” Kessigner said while remembering going through the storm. “Just when you thought the eye of the storm and its calm, no. You’re just getting the eye and it hits again.

“Andrew was compact and really powerful,” Bowdoin said. “The winds at the center of it did damage in a very concentrated zone. Irma has those winds bigger than the whole state of Florida. The potential for this storm to do catastrophic damage is much greater.”

Both have messages for those who either got out of dodge or are preparing to weather the storm.

“I think the message in Florida, as rightfully it should be, is get out,” Bowdoin said. “Don’t play around. Evacuate. Get to some place safe.”

“Keep your head down, your eyes open and just cross your fingers,” Kessinger said. “It’s just that scary there. You just hope for the best.”

Bowdoin said part of his family in Florida who evacuated plan to drive towards New York and Michigan to get out of Irma’s path.

Stay with KESQ and CBS Local 2 for the latest updates on Hurricane Irma.