Tense Moments For Mayville Woman On Gulf Coast

(Clearwater, Florida) There were some tense moments for a Mayville woman visiting Florida this week, right near the path of Hurricane Michael. Brenda Bruyette is in Clearwater Beach at the Sanpearl Resort for a banking conference. While the storm hit the panhandle the hardest, Clearwater Beach is just south of the heaviest-hit areas on a barrier island off the Sunshine State’s west-central coast outside Tampa right on the ocean. She says everybody is a little nervous and busy reaching out to family and friends to let them know they are safe. Bruyette told us that everything started innocently enough when they landed on Tuesday under sunny skies and a light wind. She says by 5pm the rain started, the wind picked up and the resort lost power three times. By Wednesday morning things got “extremely worse” as restore staff began discussing evacuations. The evacuations never happened as the path targeted the panhandle. Bruyette wants to let those back home know that she is safe. She says “when you’re in it, it does not seem as bad as when you are watching it from a distance knowing a loved one” is in harm’s way. Only tropical storms are expected along Florida’s west coast going forward, and the conference was only minimally affected by the weather. Bruyette says her biggest concern at this point is getting home on time when the conference is over on Friday.