Some Pinellas residents will heed evacuation, others won't

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Mariners Cove resident Jessica Lopez was planning a birthday party for her daughter tomorrow, but thanks to Irma, her plans have suddenly changed. Lopez is one of 160,000 Pinellas residents who must plan to evacuate under an order approved today by Pinellas County Commissioners.

“We have to leave a tropical storm floods up to my door so you can imagine what a hurricane is going to do,” Lopez said.

Pinellas is calling for a so-called Level A or “red zone” evacuation covering all of the beaches and other low-lying areas. It also includes mobile home residents and people with special needs.

Evacuees in need of transportation or accommodation for pets should call the citizen information center at (727) 464-4333.

Some residents of Mariners Cove insist they’re staying put despite that neighborhood notorious history of flooding during heavy rains and tropical storms. “We can all swim including the pets,” said Chad Deaton. “We’re not going to leave.

Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri tells 8 On Your Side that his deputies will not force people out of their homes, but they stay behind at their own peril. “They run the risk of not being rescued and being able to get to a place of safety,” Gualtieri said.

The sheriff also said he does not plan to arrest people with warrants who show up at emergency shelters, something that Polk Sheriff Grady Judd says he will do.

Pinellas County Administrator will decide late Friday whether to expand the evacuation levels B and C based on the latest forecast for Hurricane Irma. “The emergency management credo is you run from surge and you hide from wind,” said Administrator Mark Woodard.