THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170567
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KITTY HAWK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Tori Anderson, visiting from Elizabeth City, was reveling in the wind and exclaiming ``I love it'' when a firefighter bearing a notepad lumbered past her into the Holiday Inn Express.
``We need a count of people who have not checked out,'' Ed Klusman asked the front desk clerk.
``How many people are staying overnight?''
By late Wednesday morning, Klusman had asked that question dozens of times, marching from Truck 1303 to the front doors of trailer homes, cottages and houses on stilts.
The point: To get a good estimate of the number of people who remain, ``just in case a house disappears, gets washed away,'' Klusman said.
Many of the town's 2,000 permanent residents had driven away behind a caravan of tourists. But even as the waves washed onto the roads and the wind whipped clouds of sand into the air, about 400 hard-core residents and visitors told emergency officials that they planned to ride out Hurricane Felix.
When emergency officials began counting live bodies, some residents and visitors started packing.
``Sometimes you can change their minds,'' said Jessie Waters, Kitty Hawk's assistant fire chief.
Holiday Inn officials told firefighters that an estimated 22 rooms were occupied, with 28 more rooms reserved for Wednesday night.
At 4019 Lindberg Ave., firefighters counted three: Wilber and Paula Hynes and their 16-year-old son, Andrew.
Although firefighters expressed concern, Wilber Hynes said he had no immediate plans to leave.
The Hyneses have a bird's-eye view of the turbulent Atlantic - because the remnants of the last hurricane knocked down four buildings that blocked their view. They can see the water as it inches closer.
``If it looks worse, we'll go,'' Hynes said, glancing at the churning sea as he took a break from boarding up his windows. ``We'll just get in the car and leave.''
Kitty Hawk firefighters weren't the only ones visiting residences. In Nags Head, emergency officials also knocked on doors Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. But fewer people - 500 to 600 - rode it out.
Like Kitty Hawk, Nags Head's permanent population is about 2,000.
In Kill Devil Hills, with a permanent population of about 5,000, fire chief Doug Penland said his staff tallied rough estimates of the number of residents and visitors planning to remain. About 2,000 people said they were staying, but most were in areas generally safer than those in neighboring Kitty Hawk, he said.
``They've got a tremendous problem there,'' Penland said. ``We're a little more protected here.''
But Kitty Hawk was doing its best to persuade its straggling residents to pack up and drive away. Firefighter Kusman, finishing his task at the Holiday Inn, boarded Truck 1303 and headed for the next stop.
``A lot of times, they'll see us and start leaving,'' said Kusman. ``Sometimes they'll just hurry up. And sometimes, they tell us they're going to stay.''
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX by CNB