FLORIDA — As hurricane devastation continues in the southern United States, Florida residents are trying to pick up the pieces. A former Wisconsinite, Jasper MacFarland, lost his home in Clearwater, Fla., during Hurricane Helene and had another close call during Hurricane Milton.
MacFarland said he didn’t evacuate, as the storm wasn’t originally predicted to be as bad there.
Then the storm changed course.
He and his dog, Azula, had to be rescued from the rising water. He’s been sleeping in his truck or staying with friends ever since, including when Hurricane Milton hit.
“Last night, during the storm, I heard a thud that sounded like it rocked the foundation of this building, and low and behold, it was a tree that fell down just like one parking spot away from hitting my truck,” MacFarland said.
He said for the past few weeks, he’s seen only panic, frustration and chaos. Now, everyone is faced with the aftermath.
“And there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people out traveling the roads right now either, because there is so much debris and there’s a lot of trees down everywhere. I’ve seen signs blowing,” he said.
MacFarland said he is still trying to figure out how he’s going to fix his home and get back to his construction business.
“I lost my tools; I lost my way of earning a living and everything in the house, including all my paperwork, file cabinets under water,” MacFarland said.
However, MacFarland said he is choosing to be thankful because he knows that after witnessing both hurricanes, he’s lucky to be alive.
“Now it is just a matter of trying to pick up after all the damage has been done — I’m not the only one that lost. There’s so many families, so many homes, that have just been destroyed,” he said.
A GoFundMe was set up by MacFarland's daughter, to help him rebuild his life. Find the fundraiser, here.