7 News has been bringing you the voices of Western New Yorkers in Florida as Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall, now two evacuees are planning their return home.
- Hurricane Milton evacuees Chris Hoffman and Ray Collins plan their return to Florida.
- Ray evacuated from Sarasota to Orlando and is staying until power is restored.
- Chris evacuated from Naples to Tennessee; his restaurant sustained minimal damage.
- Both men expressed gratitude for the kindness received during the evacuation.
- Eight Days of Hope will distribute thousands of meals in Sarasota.
"We were awakened by the windows rattling in a strong wind. I had this weird feeling that the windows could break in at any moment and shards of glass on our bed — luckily it didn't happen," said Ray Collins.
7 News introduced you to Ray when he was evacuating from Sarasota to Orlando.
While Ray is originally from Buffalo and was a longtime journalist here, his wife Erin has always lived in Florida. She said this was one of just a few times she ever felt the need to evacuate.
I reconnected with him on Thursday — he said he was happy he listened to those evacuation orders.
"Hurricane fatigue that sets in when you live here a long time you kind of think 'oh yaeh, another hurricane, we'll probably get lucky again,' this time the track moved and we had to evacuate," said Collins.
Ray and his family plan to stay in Orlando until power is restored.
We also introduced you to Chris Hoffman earlier this week as he was evacuating from Naples — he found refuge in Tennessee.
He told us his journey to the Florida-Georgia state line took hours and he waited 40 minutes to get gas at one point.
"It's incredible to think you're going to lose everything and you wake up today and the relief hits, your friends are okay and you're on the phone and everything is now okay," said Chris Hoffman.
Chris is a general manager at a restaurant and bar in Naples and said there is minimal damage — but the hurricane did make a profound impact.
"Faith in humanity restored. We met so many people who were displaced and everybody was so kind and caring and loving — faith in humanity restored," said Hoffman.
Chris and Ray hope to return to their homes soon — as the damage is assessed.
Volunteer outreach organization Eight Days of Hope also announced it will be heading to Sarasota to distribute thousands of meals to those in need.
