ENID, OKLA. — A Florida native now living in Oklahoma just got back from helping clean up after Hurricane Helene. She plans to drive back down south after Milton makes landfall.
Jolene Jones spent most of her life in the Sunshine State before moving to Enid.
With deep family ties across the storm-ravaged state, she didn't hesitate for a moment to make the nearly 19-hour drive down to help.
“It’s just like neighbors helping neighbors, you know, you’re just doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do," said Jones. "That is the craziest thing down there, it is a small tight knit community, and it’s neighbors helping neighbors, it’s everybody following the golden rule.”
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She just got back into town Tuesday, helping make sense of the havoc left behind by Hurricane Helene.
"It's like going into what you would expect in a third-world country or a war zone, like just utter chaos," said Jones.
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night.
“This storm felt different even before there was a storm," Jones said. "Actually I told my husband before I left here that I felt like this was going to happen, it reminds me of the same year as Charlie and there was a hurricane every week for three weeks I think.”
It was difficult for Jones to talk about, with so much family directly in Milton's way.
2 News also spoke with Oklahoma Highway patrolmen ready to lend a hand.
Not being there but having so much of her heart there makes this hurricane feel harsher for Jones.
"My husband and I... we have my niece and my nephew that are there, and then we have three grown children that live down there, and then with those three grown children, we have 13 grandchildren... and they’re all in the path, so it’s hard," she said. "Everybody has to check in multiple times a day to let us know they’re alive.”
As a born and raised Floridian, though, Jones is no stranger to the storms that can come with the coast.
She's keeping a close eye on the radar but can't just sit by afterward when the communities are left to pick up the pieces. Jones and her husband plan to drive back down Friday, get to family by Saturday, and support anyone else they cross paths with.
“This is like a first wave thing, this is to get you through the next three, four days… you know because that’s what you’re doing. You’re getting through the moments when this happens.”
As for Oklahoman's who want to help, Jones suggests donating any resources or funds they can locally.
2 News's parent company is also championing a disaster relief fund, that you can donate directly to to help those impacted by the hurricanes.
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