By Tyler Fleming
The Sun News
MYRTLE BEACH, SC — As the first rains of Hurricane Florence rolled across Myrtle Beach, public safety officials were having a barbecue outside of a hotel across the Intracoastal Waterway.
“It’s cops serving everybody,” said Lance Cpl. Shawn Hanna with South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The food was provided by local Walmart and Food Lion stores. The public safety officials were cooking for themselves, the hotel staff, people seeking shelter in the hotel and elderly folks being housed there.
The food was cooked and prepped in a small hotel kitchen, usually making the breakfasts’ for hotel guests. Now the barbecue, to serve hundreds, was being prepped on two tables. The grill was outside, cooking since early in the morning to feed the hungry safety officials, relaxing under a setting sun.
Today, they had pork chops and barbecue. Tomorrow, they will be in a new location to continue serving food to safety officials, helping the storm emergency effort.
The officers will be responding to calls tomorrow, as Florence rolls in. However, local governments are taking their safety into account, and they’ll be called off when winds reach 60 mph.
Tomorrow, they can expect chicken bog, a local Horry County favorite.