‘The Tree Capital of the South’, Perry, Florida, was left scarred by Hurricane Idalia’s devastation

Jerry Wells summarized the scene about 48 hours after Hurricane Idalia toppled trees and downed power lines in Perry, Florida, a little mill town close inland from the coast where the hurricane made landfall.

In Perry, Florida, a small mill town near to the coast where Hurricane Idalia made landfall, Jerry Wells described the scene roughly 48 hours after trees and electricity lines were toppled and collapsed. (Photo: AP News)

Idalia, a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of close to 125 mph

If you don’t have a generator, Wells warned those who anticipate being without electricity for a month, you’re going to have a lot of trouble.

At a Citgo station on U.S. 19, Wells filled 12 5-gallon containers with fuel and was holding a 14-gallon container steady as his wife Anne filled it.

Wells has lived in Taylor County, a region of the Big Bend where the peninsula merges into the Panhandle and where Perry, a town of roughly 7,000 people, is situated, for all 78 of his years with the exception of a six-year service in the Air Force. The worst hurricane he has ever seen, according to him, is Idalia.

USA Today reported that Idalia, a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of close to 125 mph, made landfall in Georgia and South Carolina before slicing trees in two, tearing off hotel roofs, and converting small automobiles into boats.

Wells, who believes he has spent $1,000 on gas to run a generator, claimed as much. The forest is completely destroyed across Taylor County as you ascend (U.S. 19). I have no idea how common it is for homes to have trees. It’s becoming a village made of tarps.

If we don’t (save fuel in reserve). In the refrigerator and freezer, we constantly lose things. And yes, even with the windows open at night, how humid is it? You are not going to sleep, Wells declared.

READ ALSO: Tropical Storm Idalia Forecasted To Develop Into Major Hurricane Before Florida Landfall

The gas station where Wells was refueling is owned by Don Everett.

As a large line of automobiles and trucks waited in the parking lot for fuel, he spent a portion of Friday controlling traffic.

After Hurricane Idalia devastated the Big Bend, a Florida (Perry, Florida) guide on giving and volunteering

Idalia punched out the signage at the gas station in Perry’s commercial center when it battered the area with hurricane-force gusts.

The base of one of Everett’s canopies that covered an island of gas stations was torn away by the storms; its replacement will probably cost $175,000, he added.

Amazingly, it’s a madhouse down here. Like a bomb went off, it feels. Everett stated that’s all there is to it.

Everett claimed to have been on the coast in 1993 during the Storm of the Century, which resulted in an 11-foot storm surge and three fatal tornadoes.

He believes that Perry, Florida’s Idalia is ten times worse than Steinhatchee’s Storm of the Century.

If they didn’t lose electricity, Everett said, then. But now all of these trees have been cut down. and the electricity wires are all down. The most important thing is that. no electricity.

At nightfall on Friday, 93 percent (12,863) of Duke Energy and/or Tri-County Electric Cooperative customers in Taylor County were without electricity. But by Saturday am, 50% of users had returned to the site.

Everett remarked, “We’ll just pick up the pieces as soon as we get the power on.”

The timber industry and the trees that kept Perry, Florida in the dark over Labor Day Weekend 2023 are fundamental to its history, economy, and character, reports from Yahoo News.

READ ALSO: Idalia Downgrades To Tropical Storm Despite Leaving Trail Of Damages In Florida State