Villagers are furiously stocking up and filling up ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Ian while The Villages started last-minute pruning of palm trees at town square.
The hurricane is expected to arrive on Wednesday and Villagers who may not have been taking Ian seriously are obviously doing so now.
Many Villagers have been topping off their gas tanks. The fuel pumps at 7-Eleven at Colony Plaza were roped off with yellow tape Monday night. However, a tanker apparently arrived overnight and a line had formed Tuesday morning at the station with Villagers and numerous contractors filling up or topping off their tanks.
Both Circle Ks at Southern Trace Plaza were out of gasoline on Tuesday morning.
A tanker truck driver at Walmart at Sarasota Plaza in The Villages said the central location in Tampa where tankers fill up ran dry Tuesday morning. He also reported seeing a long line of tankers trying to replenish their loads at the Marathon central facility, also in Tampa.
The Wawa at County Road 466 and U.S. 301 in Oxford was a busy hub of activity Tuesday morning as a fresh shipment of gasoline was received.
In addition, water has been flying off store shelves. The shelvers were nearly bare Monday night at Winn-Dixie at Pinellas Plaza. However, cases and cases of bottled water were wheeled in and it was apparently useless to try to offload them onto the store shelves. Shoppers were taking them directly off the palette.
Last-minute pruning of palm trees
Last-minute pruning of palm trees was taking place Tuesday morning near the Properties of The Villages Sales Center at Lake Sumter Landing.
High winds could knock plenty of fronds from the trees.
Orange barrels removed from U.S. Hwy. 27/441
The orange barrels which have become a fixture during construction on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 in Lady Lake have been removed. The barrels were removed by the Florida Department of Transportation.