Hugo made Atkinson a believer in forecasts

By RANDY BURNS
Item Staff Writer
rburns@theitem.com

Lee County’s Roy Atkinson hasn’t looked at a weather forecast the same way since Hurricane Hugo.

“If they tell me (a hurricane is) coming now,” said Atkinson, “I’m going to believe them. And I might not stay around. I sure don’t want to stay around for another Hugo.”

Atkinson, who at the time was working as a farmer near his home in Elliott, said he finds it unbelievable that everyone in Lee County managed to survive the storm.

He said he had a good feeling the day after Hugo.

“I was so glad to be alive,” Atkinson said. “All we had to do was fix some roofs, repair houses and get trees out of the way.”

He said he realized Hugo’s potential not long after the storm hit the county around midnight.

“When you’re the head of a household, you have a lot of responsibility,” Atkinson said.

His attention turned to the safety and welfare of his wife, Sally, and children: John, 2; and 12-year-old twins Stuart and Derrick.

“When the house started shaking, I made a plan,” he said. “I thought my house was going to blow away. I told Sally to take care of John, our 2-year-old. I put Derrick in a sleeping bag and stayed next to him. Derrick has a disability, and I hunkered down next to him. I turned to Stuart and told him that I didn’t know where we would end up, but the house might be going somewhere. And that I would watch after him, but he would have to try to take care of himself.”

It turned out that Atkinson’s house didn’t blow away. It lost shingles and had extensive damage to its roof and porch.

Atkinson spent the first few days after Hugo making repairs to his house and removing trees from the house and yard. He soon came to the aid of neighbors.

Atkinson’s cotton crop was totally lost. Still, Atkinson planned to find a way to continue farming. His immediate plans changed after he was contacted by Forestry Ranger Benson Atkinson.

“He told me about this (Federal Emergency Management Agency) program that would be coming to Lee County,” he said. “He told me it was perfect for me. I knew all the roads and people in Lee County.”

Atkinson said he soon made the trip to Camden to find out more about the job. He applied for the job that day.

“The Forestry Department couldn’t get through the downed trees,” Atkinson said. “Our job was to identify the most critical areas where a fire could start. Our job was to make firebreaks.”

Atkinson said most people patiently waited their turn.

“Of course, everybody wanted their place worked on first,” he said. “But they understood it was going to take some time to get everybody. Our job was simple. We had to get the trees away from homes, sheds, barns and (forest) access roads.”

Atkinson and the FEMA crews were also called to respond to assist the fire department whenever there was a fire.

“We went to all fires at first,” he said. “You were always worried about making sure the fire was contained. You didn’t want it to spread to all the debris that was around.”

Atkinson doesn’t remember how long he worked for the S.C. Forestry Commission and FEMA, but he believes it was a little more than a year.

“It was a good program,” he said. “It helped a lot of people. And it was good for me, because it brought some money into my house to help me support my family.”



Contact Staff Writer Randy Burns at rburns@theitem.com or (803) 491-4533.