ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - As Hurricane Milton approaches, many Florida residents are evacuating and making places like Chehaw Park and Zoo in Albany their temporary home.

Evacuees say Chehaw Park was the perfect place to take their minds off of Hurricane Milton. There is no shortage of space when it comes to where you can walk your dog or where children can play. Many say they are grateful to have a place where they’ll be safe to escape Hurricane Milton.

Families from all over Florida are camping out at Chehaw Park, and Kimberly Rolston, a Florida native, says out of 29 years living in the state, this is her first time leaving for a storm.

“Because of Helene, all of the people had to evacuate. Our thoughts were, when we saw how bad the storm was going to be, we decided to take our trailer and get out,” Rolston said.

Rolston says her family’s home was spared during Helene and she’s hoping the same thing will happen when Hurricane Milton passes through.

”Monday, as I was preparing things, I broke down a lot. I was really just struggling. Just not knowing if I’d come home to a home. I tried to just think, God’s in control and just prepare that way. I can replace stuff, but I can’t replace people,” Rolston said.

Morgan Carpenter, Chehaw’s site director, says they have over 800 acres of space and after noticing evacuees were running out of places to go, they decided to accommodate as many people as they could.

”Typically, to camp in our RV campground, a camper or RV is required; but we are waiving that this weekend. If you have driven up in your car and you need a safe place to park, a place to take a shower, something for your family to do. We can offer that here,” Carpenter said.

Many places in Pinellas County, Florida are at or below sea level. Elizabeth Luke, an evacuee, hopes the communities helping out don’t develop empathy fatigue.

“If we get this storm and another storm, at some point people are going to run out of the ability to provide resources because they’ve already provided resources. That’s a bit of a concern,” Luke said.

Representatives with Chehaw Park say they’re not worried about a lack of space and their campgrounds are open to any evacuees in the area.

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