Former Tuolumne County Resident Prepared For Hurricane

Lorraine Martinelli was raised in the higher elevations of Tuolumne County and now lives in Hawaii. She is experiencing her first Tropical Storm and is also keeping her eye on an approaching Hurricane.

Martinelli, a former coordinator for the Columbia Airport Father’s Day Fly-In, was Friday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.

Martinelli lives with her family on the north side of the island of O’ahu.

Tropical Storm Iselle is currently hitting the big island of Hawaii, where electricity is out and flooding is being reported.

On Sunday, Hurricane Julio is projected to track just to the north of O’ahu.

According to Martinelli, homeowners in her immediate neighborhood are taking no chances and have boarded up their homes and are prepared to go for a couple of weeks with no electricity or phone service.

Year-round schools are closed today in addition to the majority of businesses and tourist attractions. Evacuation centers have been set up around the entire island.

Martinelli said that growing up in Tuolumne County and dealing with long periods of no electricity during the winter and wildfires in the summer, has ironically prepared her for the possible impacts of this one-two punch; a tropical storm and hurricane.

“The storm surge and the ocean swells are the most concerning,” said Martinelli. “The tides will already be high with the full moon this weekend.”

Martinelli says she feels that she is as prepared as she can be with plenty of food emergency packs, water and flashlights.

The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday on AM 1450 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM.