Get your camper ready: waiting for Hurricane Ian recovery

Tom Inscoe gets his dog, Henri, ready for their walk. Steps out his front door like any other morning. Only —

“Looks like no progress on the house today!” Inscoe says, looking up at his house.

His backyard is now what almost was Tom and his wife, Mary’s dream home.

“My wife says the only thing she doesn’t like about living here is having to look at what she did the work she put in,” Inscoe said.

Just before Hurricane Ian hit, they renovated the whole place. A new kitchen, new wallpaper, fixed-up balcony.

“All we were waiting for was county approval for our hurricane-rated windows,” Inscoe said. “Bottom line is they turned down the first request, the storm hit after went through my old cheap windows and ruined my house.”

The house took on a lot of water and now it’s completely gutted.

Inscoe has called an RV home for the last four months.

“Never was a camper, really. But I guess you can’t call that camp. And it’s a little bit better than that. But not as good as that,” Inscoe points to the house.

He said progress on the house has been slow. They need a new roof, new walls, kitchen, and he wants to raise it about two more feet. He hopes it’ll be done by next summer.

“We’re moving forward and the thought of the hurricane is far behind us.” Inscoe said.