Hoover residents, council member hold cookout for Irma evacuees at Hoover RV Park

Evacuees from Hurricane Irma came from across the state of Florida to wait out the storm in Hoover’s RV Park, next to the Finley Center. Some had been there since Thursday, while others had driven through the night and just arrived Sunday morning.

And on Sunday afternoon, Hoover residents Greg Moon, David Cohen and Councilman Derrick Murphy brought a feast – in the form of 100 grilled hamburgers, 145 wings, 100 hot dogs and sides – to the RV Park to make their time in Hoover a little easier.

“[It’s] the least we as a city could do,” Murphy said, to provide the evacuees in roughly 60 RVs with a “home-cooked meal.”

The RV Park has offered free use of its facilities for all evacuees. Alabama Power is also using the Finley Center to organize a truck convoy to damaged areas.

Moon was decked out in Florida Gators gear since his son is on the Gators football team. His shirt and hat brought cheers from some of the Florida residents in the park, with lighthearted teasing from other Seminoles fans. He was the one who initiated the plan to cook for the evacuees.

“You want people to do the same for you,” Moon said. “We’re doing what’s a reflection of Hoover.”

Cohen, the owner of the Whole Scoop, moved to Birmingham from south Florida in 2006, and most of his family has “hunkered down” to wait out the storm in Florida. Having been through several hurricanes himself, Cohen said choosing to stay put during a storm is “all about the preparation” and then just waiting and hoping they had prepared well enough.

Though they came from many cities, it was apparent on Sunday that most of the RV Park’s temporary residents had already gotten to know each other and swapped stories.

“They share strength. The RV community is wonderful,” Cohen said.

Mark Hopkins, a 35-year resident of Bradenton, Florida, was visiting friends in Arkansas and heard about Irma’s path toward his hometown. His wife heard about Hoover RV Park allowing evacuees to stay for free and they chose to wait there for it to pass. His home is only a few hundred feet away from shore and about 11 feet above sea level, so Hopkins said he was concerned about what storm surges could do to his house.

“It’s going to be bad, we know that,” Hopkins said.

Len Markowitz of Parkland, Florida, had been visiting Disney World in his RV and saw “a lot of bumper to bumper” during evacuation. He originally went to Georgia, then traveled to Birmingham when predictions showed that area of Georgia would get hit. Now that updated weather predictions showing the storm’s path heading toward Birmingham, Markowitz joked that he didn’t need radar to keep up with Irma – the storm was simply following his RV.

Maria Gonzalez evacuated from Punta Gorda, Florida with her husband, granddaughter and dog Flower. Her son, Chris Gonzalez, is a Moody resident and encouraged them to come to Hoover. The trip took 15 hours, and Maria Gonzalez said she had no idea when she would be returning to Florida but “I hope I find my house good,” she said.

The mood as Moon, Murphy, and their family members served food was cheerful, even as uncertainty remains over Irma’s final impact in their hometowns.

“It’s so sweet, incredible,” Maria Gonzalez said of her reception from Hoover residents so far.