Hurricane Dorian damage 'minimal' in, near downtown Wilmington

Things were already getting back to normal the morning after the storm blew by the Port City.

More dog walkers than downed trees could be seen Friday morning in Wilmington after Hurricane Dorian made its merciful brush past the Port City.

It was a welcome contrast to last year’s experience with Hurricane Florence, which took down countless trees and left residents without power for days.

Wilmington’s pine-tree-filled Lincoln Forest neighborhood, hard hit last year, appeared relatively unscathed. On Friday morning, Beth Rohrbaugh, who lives on Gillette Drive in the neighborhood, walked her dog, Yogi, who was still groggy from anti-anxiety medication she’d given him to help weather the storm. She did lose power, Rohrbaugh said, but had seen only one downed tree in her neighborhood.

Burnt Mill Creek near the Snipes Academy elementary school was swollen, but no more than after a heavy thunderstorm, said another dog-walking resident.

While the damage appeared minor, people still pitched in to help when needed.

At the corner of Sixth and Taylor streets on Wilmington’s Northside, the Wilmington Police Department used an Oshkosh M-ATV all-terrain vehicle obtained from a U.S. Department of Defense program to clear a tree blocking the road leading to the police station. Sgt. Kevin Tully then cut it up using his a chain saw he brought from home.

“We knew the city tree services were busy, so we went ahead and took care of of it,” said Assistant Police Chief Donny Williams. “It’s important for people to be able to get to the police station.”

Williams, who started his job last year shortly before Hurricane Florence, said Dorian’s “minimal” damage is “nothing like it was with Florence. My stress level this year is a walk in the park compared to last year.”

In downtown Wilmington, aside from traffic lights being out at Third and Market streets, things were largely back to normal by 10 a.m. It felt like a typical day in the Bespoke coffee shop at Second and Princess streets, with people wearing headphones and eyeing their laptops as usual.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.