East County residents remain resilient after Hurricane Milton's wrath

Mill Creek's Joe Wolski was busy cutting up fallen limbs and hauling them to the curb on Thursday morning following Hurricane Milton's rampage through East County on Wednesday night.

But if Wolski had his way, he wishes Milton would have taken one more tree.

He pointed to it in his yard.

"I hate that tree," Wolski said with a laugh.

It was the least the Category 3 hurricane could have done after causing so much damage to his yard and home.

Like many in East County who chose to ride out the storm, Wolski said he feels fortunate despite the damage.

"This is the worst hurricane there has been here," Wolski said of Milton, which built to a Category 5 hurricane in the gulf before weakening a bit as it collided with a cooler air wind shear from the north.

Still, winds were measured at 100 mph or more in the Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch areas.

Wolski's son, also Joe, was sitting near the pool late Wednesday when he began to hear the pool cage "creaking." He just got inside before the pool cage blew apart.

"The wind was howling, it was nuts," the elder Wolski said.

Even so, he has no intention of moving out of the area.

"(Hurricane) Debby brought water about four feet from the garage, but oh yeah, I'm staying."

It was a common theme of those who experienced damage from Milton. They said despite the heartache, they love the area and would make repairs and go forward.

After seeing Hurricane Milton was projected to hit land as a Category 4, River Club's Tom Terhorst decided last-minute Wednesday to evacuate. 

He said he and his neighbors all were planning to stay in River Club and ride out the storm, but after seeing the weather projections, they decided to leave.

"We just chickened out in the end," Terhorst said. "You listen to the newscast meteorologists and National Weather Service and they really scare you. So many times, the actual storm is less severe than what they're predicting. I guess that's the nature of the beast."

Terhorst was on his way to West Palm Beach but made it as far as Okeechobee before he had to find a shelter as tornados were touching down in the area. 

When Terhorst returned to his River Club home around 11 a.m. Thursday, he found his yard littered with downed trees and debris. His house didn't have any damage, he said. 

He compared the damages to what he saw during Hurricane Ian in September 2022, but it was a little worse. There was no damage to his house then either, but there was a lot of debris. 

Terhorst's biggest concern is his one-story villa on Siesta Key. 

With Siesta Key still closed to residents, he said it could be a few days before he's able to check on the property. 

Hurricane Milton marks the third hurricane in two months for Manatee County. 

"It's isn't fair, is it?" Terhorst said. "I spent (Hurricane Debby) in Minnesota where I spend the summers, but I came down for Helene, and that didn't seem terrible. This was really bad."

Jim Johnson, Terhorst's neighbor down the street in River Club, also evacuated, but he and his family went Monday. 

"In the 32 years I've lived in Sarasota, I've never seen a hurricane come straight at us like that, which is why this is the first time I ever said, 'OK, we're leaving,'" Johnson said. "I told my friends up north that this is the price we pay for living in paradise."

Johnson said he was able to stay in a relative's home in Port St. Lucie. His 10-year-old daughter, Alexa Johnson, considered it a mini vacation as they had dinner with relatives, who also gave her gifts. 

"We were very lucky we didn't have to go through it," Johnson said. "(Alexa) thought it was awesome. Luckily, we were able to shield her from the scary parts of it all."

Johnson said he was nervous to see what his house would be like returning home Oct. 10, but he was surprised to see there was only one downed tree and some debris. 

Others in East County decided to ride out the storm in their homes. 

Greenbrook's Aaron Apostolico said he was blessed because there was no damage to his home while his neighbor's house had damage to the roof and lanai. 

He said the eye of the hurricane passed over his neighborhood. 

"The eye came right behind our house," he said. "We had to have had wind gusts of at least 100 miles per hour. At some point, it was dead quiet, so we must have been in the eye because then it kicked back up again."

When he woke up and assessed his home for damage, he said there was minimal flooding in his neighborhood.